Senators Reject Guaranteed Time Stateside for Troops Deployed in War

July 11, 2007 — -- Senators rejected a proposal this morning by Democratic Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia and Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, both Vietnam veterans, that would have guaranteed troops equal time posted in the United States as they spend deployed in war zones overseas.

Democrats had tried to lobby for the amendment by painting it as a "support the troops" measure and pointing out the military credentials of its bipartisan sponsors.

The Senate began debate this week on its annual defense authorization bill and will also consider both binding and nonbinding measures to draw down the number of American troops in Iraq.

"Who is bearing the burden of this war?" asked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at a news conference this morning with veterans groups. "It's not the administration. It's certainly not Congress. It's certainly not the Iraqi government. It's our troops, being deployed again and again and again."

Republicans, most of whom argued that the amendment would infringe on the president's right to be commander in chief and deploy the troops as much and as often as he pleased, said that this amendment was, in the words of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a "backdoor effort to hamstring" Gen. David Petraeus as he wages the war on the ground.

They said it would have effectively ended the surge by requiring that soldiers who are currently serving 15-month tours in Iraq be given 15 months posted in the United States and give National Guard troops three years between deployments. The military would effectively run out of deployable troops and the president would be forced to transition the role of U.S. troops in Iraq.

"It would do through the back door what they can't do through the front door," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who opposes attempts by Democrats and some Republicans to reduce the U.S. presence in Iraq. "The best thing we can do for the troops is let them win," he said after the vote.

Some of the Republicans would have supported a nonbinding alternative, but Democrats rejected an offer to vote on both amendments with a caveat insisted on by Republicans that both would need 60 votes.