By a vote of 50-48 the Senate kept a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq in a $121 billion supplemental spending bill. A final vote on the bill could come as early as today.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Republicans will not filibuster the bill, but, if it passes, they have the votes to sustain the president's veto.
"To delay the bill doesn't serve the intent of getting the money to the troops," said the Kentucky Republican.
The White House yesterday said Mr. Bush and Senate Republicans have agreed to get the legislation to his desk as quickly as possible so he can veto it.
"The legislation would substitute congressional mandates for the considered judgment of our military commanders," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. "Regardless of the success that our troops are achieving in the field, this bill would require their withdrawal."
The administration also has criticized the billions of dollars of pork-barrel spending attached to the bill to woo support from skeptical lawmakers. The so-called pork includes $100 million for security at the 2008 presidential nominating conventions, $3 million in sugar-cane subsidies and $2 million for the University of Vermont.
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