In an aggressive move to counter President Bush's war plans, the U.S. Senate signed off on a bill Thursday that provides $123 billion to pay for war costs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The bill, passed 51-47 in the newly Democrat-controlled Senate, orders Bush to begin withdrawing troops within 120 days of the bill being passed.
Most Republicans rejected the bill, refusing to support a bill that imposes a forced troop withdrawal. Bush held a pep rally with members of the Republican Party to help raise support for his plans to continue the war shortly before the bill was passed.
Bush has made it clear that any bill proposed with a timetable will not be passed.
""We stand united in saying loud and clear that when we've got a troop in harm's way, we expect that troop to be fully funded and [when] we've got commanders on the ground making tough decisions on the ground, we expect there to be no strings on our commanders,"" Bush told the Associated Press.
UW-Madison political science professor David Canon said, ""This is the strongest statement made so far about ending the war sooner than later.""
In spite of Bush's rejection of the bill, Canon said, ""Congress has the support of the public and the public does not support the war. An unpopular war can only last so long before it has to end.""
There was a lack of enthusiasm for the bill from the Wisconsin Campus Anti-war Network.
""Proposing a timetable will not be effective because it allows the war to continue. This bill proves that Congress cannot be left to end the war; it's up to the anti-war movement,"" said UW-Madison senior and Wisconsin Anti-war Network member Chris Dols.
The proposed bill was delivered less than four months after Bush's new plan for continuing the war in Iraq, regardless of the pressures to withdraw from a majority of Americans, according to Canon.
U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., has been open about his disagreement with the Bush administration's plan since the beginning of the Iraq war four years ago.
With the signing of the bill, ""today marks an important step toward ending the war in Iraq,"" Feingold said in a statement.
""For the first time, the U.S. Senate will pass binding legislation requiring the President to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. While this is long overdue, it is a big step in the right direction and it brings us closer to ending our involvement in this disastrous war,"" he said.
