Four lawmakers said Tuesday that Congress should have a vote on President Obama’s Afghanistan war plan before any more troops are sent there.
Sen. Russ Feingold, Wisconsin Democrat and one of the Hill’s most vocal opponents of sending more troops, also said he would attempt to block funding for the additional troops — although he is unsure whether he could find the 41 votes in the chamber necessary to sustain a filibuster.
A handful of top Democrats, including Rep. John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania, who is House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee chairman, have said that the troop surge may have to be funded through a supplemental bill, which would open the way for extended floor debate in both chambers on the plan.
Related TWT article: Both parties uneasy over Obama war plan
“We have for too long forgotten the Constitution,” said Rep. Walter B. Jones, North Carolina Republican, referring to Congress’ power to declare war. “We’ve got to have an input into this strategy, or there is no strategy.”
Democrats in the House, in particular, are wary of voting to send more troops for a war that has become increasingly unpopular, Rep. Jim McGovern, Massachusetts Democrat, said.
Rep. Barbara Lee, California Democrat, joined the group of lawmakers in opposing the troop increase and touted her measure to block any increased war funding, though it is unlikely to be successful.
Tom LoBianco has covered energy and environmental policy, including the climate change bill making its way through Congress. From 2007 to 2008, he covered Maryland politics from the Times’s Annapolis bureau. Tom hold’s a master’s degree in political science from Northeastern University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park. He spent two and a ...
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