November 16, 2007 (LPAC)--Senate Republicans blocked action on a House Democrat-authored $50 billion bridge, war supplemental bill on Nov. 16. The bill, as passed by the House on Nov. 14, provided $50 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, significantly less than the $193 billion that the White House has asked for, and included language instructing the president to begin the orderly withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, in conjunction with a comprehensive regional stability plan. It provided a goal of Dec 15, 2008 to complete the withdrawal except for certain anti-terrorism, and other, missions stipulated in the bill. Senate Republicans not only forced a cloture vote on the House-passed bill, but also brought up an alternative funding bill that provided $70 billion but without the withdrawal language. The GOP bill failed cloture on a 45 to 53 vote, and the cloture vote on the Democrats' bill was 53 to 45.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said after the vote that the reason President Bush did not have a bill "is because he doesn't want accountability." He vowed that the Democratic-led Congress would not pass any funding bill for the Iraq war without some accountability in it. The next step remains unclear, however. Reid indicated that, even though the Congress will be in session for two weeks in December, the war supplemental bill could wait until after the first of the year for further action.