Democratic Bills Aimed At Ending The War

The nonbinding resolutions debated (or not debated) in the Senate and House recently were but a first step in what is sure to be a drawn out confrontation between Republicans and Democrats over the Iraq war.  As Speaker Pelosi stated last week, "[a] vote of approval will set the stage for additional Iraq legislation which is set to come to the House floor."

Just what will that legislation look like?  Representative Murtha is floating the idea of tying war funding to troop readiness.  Senator Biden and others are talking about repealing or modifying the Iraq War Resolution (IWR).  Senator Clinton unveiled her own Iraq plan on Friday.

This internal party deliberation about the best way forward in Iraq has been going on for quite a while, and ideas that have been proposed in the past may well give us a glimpse of what we'll see in the future.  

To help us understand what may be on the table, I took the liberty of compiling a list of all Iraq-related legislation which has been introduced by Democrats this year. The list below does not include "sense of the Senate" or "sense of the House" resolutions, of which there are many on Iraq.  Nor does it include the plethora of bills introduced by Democrats which aim to increase veterans' benefits, increase transparency in war spending, and otherwise address other aspects of this war.  The focus here is on withdrawal--or redeployment, as the case may be.  

The spectrum of boldness here is interesting.  Some have chosen to legislation which makes a strong stand but will surely never gain bipartisan support.  Others have more carefully worded their bills as to attract more supporters.  All in all, the general consensus here is that something must be done by Congress to facilitate the end of this war, to bring the troops home and provide to Iraq the support it will need to transition into a stable nation.

Sponsor	Bill No.	Title	Content
Rep. Farr (CA-17) [17 cosponsors]	H.R. 413	No title.	Repeals the IWR upon enactment and requires the President to withdrawl troops in a "safe and orderly manner."
Rep. Jackson (IL-2) [1 cosponsor]	H.R. 438	No title.	Uses fund limitations to freeze U.S. presence to January 1, 2007 levels.
Rep. Nadler (NY-18) [16 cosponsors]	H.R. 455	Protect the Troops and Bring Them Home Act of 2007	Begin withdrawal of troops within 30 days of enactment, to be completed by December 31, 2007 and caps troops at current levels (with limited exceptions)
Rep. Woolsey (CA-6) [45 cosponsors]	H.R. 508	Bring the Troops Home and Iraq Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2007	Repeals the IWR upon enactment; Requires complete redeployment from Iraq withing 6 months of passage; with limited exceptions, prohibits the use of funds to send troops to Iraq; Prohibits construction of permanent military installations; Requires transfer of title to Iraqis of all military installations already built; provides for the two-year max deployment of an international support force if requested by the Iraqi government; caps embassy head count to 500 individuals; prohibits any entity of the U.S. government and any U.S. national from entering into a contract for the development, production, or marketing of petroleum resources in Iraq, until and unless the Iraqi government has and enforces laws regulating such activity; grants funds for a study of the damage to Iraq's infrastructure and society as a result of invasion; appropriates $500,000,000 for an Iraqi reconstruction Corp; established Iraq De-mining Fund; provides grants to restore archaeological, cultural, and historical sites in Iraq; provides for compensation of noncombatant civil casualties; provides for establishment of Iraqi Institute of Peace; authorizes establishment of International Funds to redevelop civil institutions in Iraq and rebuild its health care system; assures funding for adequate veterans' care; establishes Joint Select Committee to Review the Origins and Conduct of Operation Iraqi Freedom to "conduct a comprehensive study and review of the origins and conduct of the United States military intervention in Iraq ordered on March 19, 2003 and its aftermath" and grants committee subpoena power.
Rep. Price (NC-04)& Rep. Miller (NC-13) [10 cosponsors]	H.R. 645	Comprehensive Strategy for Iraq Act of 2007	Repeals IWR as of 12/31/07; forbids a "permanent presence" in Iraq; requires President to submit withdrawal plan to Congress; requires President to appoint two Presidential Special Envoys for Iraq Regional Security
Rep Blumenauer (OR-3) [10 cosponsors]	H.R. 663	New Direction for Iraq Act of 2007	Prohibits use of funds to escalate troop numbers beyond those in effect at the time of act's passage; requires that redeployment begin within 30 days after passage to be completed in the "shortest appropriate time frame" (1 yr); prohibits permanent or long term U.S. military installations in Iraq; prohibits any U.S. represenative or official "to exercise control over the petroleum infrastructure, petroleum resources, or the economic policies of Iraq."
Rep. Bordallo (GU) [no cosponsors]	H.R. 744	Iraq Policy Revitalization and Congressional Oversight Enhancement Act	Requires the President to submit a report detailing benchmarks for "victory" in Iraq; seeks multilateral agreement with coalition countries to complete war in Iraq.
Rep. McGovern (MA-03) [24 cosponsors]	H.R. 746	Safe and Orderly Withdrawal From Iraq Act	Requires start of withdrawal within 30 days of passage, to be completed 180 days later; freezes troop strength to January 1, 2007 levels; requires the President to transfer title, rights, and interest of any U.S. installation in Iraq to the Iraqi government; prohibits use of funds for escalation.
Senator Obama [cosponored with Sens. Leahy and Sanders] Rep. Thompson (CA-1) [27 cosponsors]	S. 433, H.R. 787	Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007	Freezes troops levels to January 10, 2007 levels; phased redeployment to begin no later than May 1, 2007; "The redeployment of the Armed Forces under this section shall be substantial, shall occur in a gradual manner, and shall be executed at a pace to achieve the goal of the complete redeployment of all United States combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008"; allows for the President to suspend redeployment (in 90 days intervals) if he certifies that "doing so is in the national security interests of the United States" and Iraq has met certain benchmarks; Congress can override such a suspension; allows for U.S. presence in Iraq to complete various goals (and gives Congress the power to disapprove of such limited presence); reiterated prohibition on permanenent military installations in Iraq; requires appointment of Special Envoy
Rep. Sestak	H.R. 960	Enhancing America's Security through Redeployment from Iraq Act	Requires redeployment of all forces by December 31, 2007 (with limited exception for specific missions); cuts off funding for the war as of December 31, 2007 (except for the limited missions)
Rep. Shiela Jackson Lee (TX-18) [no co-sponsors]	H.R.930	Military Success in Iraq And Diplomatic Surge for National and Political Reconciliation in Iraq Act of 2007	Repeals IWR as of passage; requires that "[n]ot later than October 1, 2007, or 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act" all Armed Forces be withdrawn from Iraq; prohibits use of funds to deploy troops to Iraq; requires a "diplomatic surge" by the President (including appointment of a Special Envoy for National and Political Reconciliation in Iraq and an Iraq International Support Group)
Rep. Murtha (PA-12) [103 cosponsors]	H. J. RES. 18	No title	Calls for redeployment at the "earliest practicable date"; calls for a "quick reaction" force and "over the horizon" presence in the region; calls for increased diplomacy.
Senator Feingold (cosponsored by Leahy, Boxer, and Sanders)	S. 121	No title.	Policy is to redeploy forces from Iraq within 180 days of enactment (with exceptions for counterterrorism, training, and other forces); calls for report from President within 60 days setting forth strategy for redeployment, rebuilding military, and diplimacy.
Senator Kennedy (cosponsored by Boxer, Brown, Leahy, Harkin, Menendez, Sanders, Wyden and Kerry) Rep. Markey (MA-7) [26 cosponsors]	S. 233 H.R. 353	No title.	Prohibits use of appropriated funds to increase U.S. presenece beyond 1/9/07 levels.
Senator Dodd (cosposnored by Kennedy & Boxer)	S. 308	No title.	Freezes American presence in Iraq to January 16, 2007 levels.
Senator Feingold (cosponsored by Boxer, Leahy and Sanders	S. 448	Iraq Redeployment Act of 2007	Cuts off funding used to continue deployment 180 days after enactment, with exceptions for counterrrorism and other missions/circumstancs; requires Secretaries of State and Defense to submit joint report outlining redeployment plan.
Senator Clinton [no cosponsors]	S. 670	Iraq Troop Protection and Reduction Act	No text available yet, but according to her website, the plan is that "if the Bush Administration does not begin a phased redeployment of troops and convene an international conference within 90 days, it must obtain a new Congressional authorization to remain in Iraq."

And here are the Iraq plans of those who are not currently members of Congress and have announced their candidacy/committees for 2008:

Name	Plan
John Edwards	Cap funding for the troops in Iraq at 100,000 troops to stop the surge and implement an immediate drawdown of 40-50,000 combat troops. Any troops beyond that level should be redeployed immediately; Prohibit funding to deploy any new troops to Iraq that do not meet real readiness standards and that have not been properly trained and equipped;  "Make it clear that President Bush is conducting this war without authorization" and have President ask for new authority to manage withdraw/aftermath mission; Require a complete withdrawal of combat troops in Iraq in the next 12-18 months; No permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq.
Bill Richardson	For 2007 withdrawal date, regional conference on Iraq, increased diplomacy and focus on reconstruction
Governor Vilsack	"Congress has the constitutional responsibility and a moral duty to cut off funding for the status quo...Not a cap -- an end. Not eventually -- immediately." link; revoke IWR; hold regional conference.
Mike Gravel	"Immediate and orderly withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq combined with aggressive and skilled diplomacy."

And, for the lone hold out, the man who has not yet announced an exploratory committee or an official run, General Wesley Cark:  pressure the president to listen to the general and experts on how to change court in Iraq; work with regional powers; "promote gradual transformation and stability, and regain the 'strategic consent' for the long-term U.S. influence in the region", all aimed at "find[ing] th eright way to wind down our deployment." link

There you go.  A smorgasbord of legislation and proposals, some of which may very well be folded into the bills which will become the center of the Iraq debate. If I've left anyone or any bill out, please let me know and I'll update.