US House Fails To Override Presidential Veto on Iraq Funding Bill
02 May 2007
The U.S. House of Representatives has failed to override a presidential veto on an emergency war funding bill that would have set a timeline for bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq.
The vote in the House was 222 in favor of overriding the veto, 203 against and 1 abstention, short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto. No Senate vote is expected.
President Bush met with Democratic and Republican leaders of the U.S. Congress Wednesday. Afterwards, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican leader John Boehner said all parties agreed it is time to work toward a compromise measure.
Earlier, Mr. Bush said he is confident both sides can agree on a bill that would give the troops the funds and flexibility they need to do their job.
Mr. Bush again asked Americans to give his troop buildup plan for Iraq more time. He said the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, will report on results by the end of August.
He said congressional Democrats have chosen, in his words, "to try to force a precipitous withdrawal" from Iraq.
Democratic leaders in Congress have vowed to keep fighting to change the direction of the war in Iraq, and point out that their bill gave the president even more money than he asked for to fund the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But Republicans say providing a deadline to begin withdrawing from Iraq amounts to surrender.
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