Democrats on Hill Expect Vetoproof Troop-Funding Bill, but It's Months Away

Chief White House Correspondent Kenneth T. Walsh reports:

Democratic congressional leaders remain confident that, over the long term, they will send President Bush a vetoproof measure establishing benchmarks for withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq. But that bill won't happen for months.

With Wednesday's White House meeting between Bush and the Democrats failing to break the current stalemate, it seems clear that the House and Senate will send the president combined legislation to fund the Iraq war that contains a timetable for withdrawal. He promises to veto it.

Next, the Democrats envision a series of short-term funding bills, paying for the war for three or four months at a time, and a series of separate bills requiring withdrawal if the Iraqis fail to meet benchmarks for progress, such as reducing sectarian violence and sharing oil revenue. There might also be conditions spelled out for the readiness standards of U.S. troops.

Over time, if the situation in Iraq fails to improve, the Democrats expect to get more and more Republicans on their side, especially senators considered vulnerable in 2008, like Norm Coleman of Minnesota and John Sununu of New Hampshire.

"Whatever happens with the first bill, the second bill is not going to be a blank check," Democratic pollster Geoff Garin tells U.S. News.