US Senate Democratic leaders announced on Thursday that they
will hold a key test vote Saturday on a resolution opposing US
President George W. Bush's plan to send additional troops to
Iraq.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters that a Saturday
session will take up a non-binding measure, which is now before the
House of Representatives.
The Saturday vote will be a procedural vote on whether the
Senate should move on to a final vote on a resolution that
expresses opposition to Bush's plan to send 21,500 more combat
troops to Iraq.
Senate Republicans succeeded last week in blocking a vote on a
similar resolution.
This time, Reid urged Senate Republicans to drop their
procedural moves.
"We demand an up-or-down vote on the resolution that the House
is debating as we speak," he said.
The House are to vote on the proposal Friday, which expresses
support for US troops in Iraq, but states that Congress
"disapproves" of Bush's troop increase.
It was not clear whether Reid and his allies will get the 60
votes needed for the Senate to cut off debate on other matters and
turn to the issue.
Opinion polls indicate a solid majority of the US public opposes
Bush's plan, and Democrats said the November election victories
that put them in control of Congress show Americans want to wind
down the nearly four-year-old war.
(Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2007)
