President Bush Repeats Call For War Funding Bill (1/2)

In the two months since he asked Congress for emergency war spending, President Bush says Democrats have worked to substitute the judgment of Washington politicians for generals in the field.

"In both the House and Senate, Democratic majorities have passed bills that would impose restrictions on our military commanders, set an arbitrary" class="hjdict" word="arbitrary" target=_blank>arbitrary date for withdrawal from Iraq, and fund domestic spending that has nothing to do with the war.The Democrats who passed these bills know that I will veto either version if it reaches my desk, and they know my veto will be sustained."

Because the votes in both chambers of Congress were close, it is unlikely that Democrats will find the two thirds majority needed to override the president's veto.

Democrats say their legislation fully funds the wars and includes money for other priorities, including levees in Louisiana that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Democratic leaders say timetables for a troop withdrawal will force Iraqi leaders to take greater responsibility for their own security and will stop the president from pursuing what they say is an open-ended commitment of American forces.