Congress is in a tug of war over Iraq funding, domestic spending - Democrats face a veto of the $500-billion package and outrage from liberals over funding for the war.
WASHINGTON — Just days before funding for the federal government is set to run out, congressional Democrats continued to struggle Monday to put together the most important domestic spending legislation since they assumed the majority in January.
Democratic leaders are working on a gargantuan package that will likely top $500 billion and would boost funding for Democratic priorities such as school aid and healthcare.
But they are laboring to defuse a veto threat from President Bush, who has adopted a new role as fiscal watchdog since the Democratic takeover and has promised to block any legislation that exceeds his budget requests for the year.
At the same time, senior Democrats are facing a restive liberal base incensed by talk that a budget deal would provide more money for the war in Iraq without attaching any conditions aimed at forcing troop withdrawals.
Additional war funding would represent a major concession to the president, who has demanded that Congress abandon its push to impose a schedule for bringing troops home.
On Monday, one of the country's leading antiwar groups, MoveOn.org, called on Democratic leaders to maintain their demands that any war funding be tied to a withdrawal timeline.
"Americans elected a Democratic Congress in 2006 to end the war in Iraq. A blank check for billions in war funding moves us in the wrong direction," said Nita Chaudhary, MoveOn's Iraq campaign director.
Democratic leaders continued to attack the Bush administration as their increasingly bitter conflict over federal spending intensified.
"The White House should cease its political posturing and work with the Congress to complete the appropriations process," said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.).
But with the approach of a Friday deadline -- when a temporary funding resolution for the federal government expires -- it appears increasingly likely that congressional Democrats will once again have to give in to the White House.
"You can't just leave the troops sitting out there," House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) said, acknowledging that Democrats had few good options to force the president's hand.
Democrats writing their first spending bills in 12 years have tried to add more money for new roads, healthcare for veterans, public housing and other domestic programs, in many cases reversing cuts proposed by the White House.
