Spokeswoman Confirms Bush To Veto Iraq Pullout Bill

Dana Perino (file photo) (official site) April 27, 2007 -- A spokeswoman for President George W. Bush has confirmed that Bush will veto a war-funding bill passed by both houses of the U.S. Congress that calls for U.S. combat troops to start withdrawing from Iraq by October.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino condemned the legislation passed by the Senate on April 26 and the House of Representatives on April 25 for setting a date for what she called a U.S. "surrender" in Iraq.

"The Senate has now joined the House in passing defeatist legislation that insists on a date for surrender, and micromanages our commanders and generals from 6,000 miles away, and adds billions of dollars in unrelated spending to the fighting on the ground," Perino said.

"I just spoke to the president in the Oval Office, and as he's said, he's going to veto the legislation and looks forward to working with Congressional leaders to craft a bill that he can sign," she added.

It does not appear that the Democratic Party majority in Congress can muster the necessary two-thirds majority to overturn a presidential veto.

The bill, which is expected to be delivered to Bush next week, provides about $100 billion in new funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but links to the money to nonbinding deadlines to begin a troop pullout from Iraq by October, and to complete the withdrawal by the end of March 2008.

(compiled from agency reports)