WASHINGTON — The Senate today is scheduled to open formal scrutiny of President Bush's controversial spending request for Iraq, a debate expected to pose one of the toughest congressional challenges to the administration's foreign policy since the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Bush ultimately is expected to win approval of the $87-billion funding package he seeks, most of which would pay for ongoing military operations in Iraq and for reconstruction efforts. But at a time when the president's public approval ratings are falling and voter qualms about the situation in Iraq are growing, Democrats are determined to use the debate to extract a political price.
Even some of Bush's fellow Republicans are among those urging that Iraq eventually be required to repay part of the roughly $20 billion sought to rebuild its infrastructure. The administration opposes that idea, and one of the biggest tests facing Bush and his allies will be whether they can fend off such an amendment.
"It is going to be a tough fight," said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).
Members of both parties also have been raising questions about some of the specific items the administration wants to finance, including a $100-million witness protection program in Iraq and $9 million to upgrade the country's postal service.
Senators from both parties Monday stressed the magnitude of the decision facing Congress. Stevens called the funding bill "one of the most important pieces of legislation I will ever work on." The investment in reconstructing Iraq is "risky, very risky, but if it comes through we won't have an army of occupation," he said.
Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), a leading critic of Bush's Iraq policy, argued that the funding request was just the beginning of a "major commitment of resources on behalf of the American taxpayer."
He noted that $87 billion was more than twice the administration's budget for homeland security this year. Also, the $20 billion in the package sought for Iraq's reconstruction is $2 billion more than the combined amount the United States would spend for foreign aid to all other nations.
"This is not a token amount," Byrd said.
The spending bill drafted by Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee contains virtually all of Bush's specific requests.
Byrd may try to slow action on the measure to allow more time for scrutiny. But most Democrats are loath to take the political risk of stalling a bill that includes funding for the U.S. military forces in Iraq.
