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Bush reiterates vow to veto war funding bill

From Dana Bash and Ted Barrett
CNN Washington Bureau

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush is expected to veto the war spending measure from Congress on Tuesday, reiterating his vow to reject any spending bill containing a timetable for removing U.S. troops from Iraq.

The president said Monday he wants to work with Democrats and is "optimistic we can get something done in a positive way."

"I look forward to working with members of both parties to get a bill that doesn't set artificial timetables and doesn't micromanage and gets the money to our troops," he said Monday during an appearance with European Union leaders. "I believe there's a lot of Democrats that understand that we need to get the money to the troops as soon as possible." (Watch why life-saving vehicles are on hold )

The $124 billion spending bill passed Thursday funds military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, but it also calls for the withdrawal of U.S. troops beginning in October, with the goal of getting all U.S. combat forces out of Iraq by the end of March 2008.

Bush administration officials have said the money is urgently needed -- and that Democrats would be to blame for any hardships suffered by U.S. troops and their families, but the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has concluded that the Pentagon could wage war through July without additional funding.

Democrats to make one last pitch

Congressional Democrats will hold an elaborate signing ceremony for the bill Tuesday, during which they will make one last pitch for the president to sign the measure before sending it up to the White House for the promised veto.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid again urged Bush not to veto the spending bill, which he said represented the will of Congress and the American people.

"It's a good and responsible bill and will begin the long process of leading us out of a war that has cost so many American lives and so much treasure," Reid said on the Senate floor. "There's still time to sign this bill and change course in Iraq."

Tuesday is the fourth anniversary of Bush's speech that declared an end to "major combat" in Iraq.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino last week warned Democrats against "using the troops for their own political PR stunts" by having Bush receive the measure Tuesday, in hopes that he would veto it on the anniversary.

"It is very troubling that Democrats would be so cynical to use our troops in that way," she said.

Bush's veto would be only the second of his presidency, after last year's rejection of a bill to expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. The veto will stand because the spending bill passed the House and Senate with bare majorities, short of the required two-thirds majority to override a veto.

New bill in the works

Lawmakers are already at work on another bill that has a better chance of getting the president's approval. The new bill would strip out the controversial troop removal language and replace it with a series of benchmarks to measure the progress of the Iraqi government.

The benchmarks would include passing laws related to the sharing of oil revenue and national reconciliation and reducing sectarian violence -- benchmarks that Bush himself has publicly pressed the Iraqis to meet.

However, the big question facing lawmakers and the White House is what happens if those benchmarks aren't met.

Many Democrats and some Republicans support setting out consequences, but the White House fiercely opposes the idea, which Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday would "tie our own hands" and reduce the United States' "flexibility" in Iraq.

A senior Republican lawmaker, working behind the scenes with senators from both parties, has suggested a possible way to bridge that gap -- requiring troops to be withdrawn if the benchmarks aren't met but allowing the president to waive that requirement if he chooses.

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, has also proposed setting a four-month deadline for the Iraqi government to make political progress. If no progress is demonstrated, the United States would then begin preparing for a troop withdrawal.

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