US Congress sends Bush Iraq funds bill; veto coming

WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) The Democratic-controlled Congress, ignoring veto threats and attempting to gain the upper hand on the Iraq war, today sent President George W Bush legislation to begin withdrawing US combat troops this year.

The White House said Bush would formally veto the bill later today.

At a bill signing ceremony at the Capitol to highlight the Bush administration's handling of the increasingly unpopular war, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the measure ''respects the wishes of the American people to end the Iraq war.'' Pelosi, of California, said it would allow the United States to ''refocus on fighting terrorism.'' Democrats concede they do not have the votes to override him, putting more pressure on both sides to compromise.

House Democratic leaders plan to hold the veto override vote tomorrow, and Bush has invited congressional leaders to the White House that day to discuss next steps.

''This is a bill that was dead on conception,'' said Rep Phil English, a Pennsylvania Republican.

Bush used a visit to the US Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, to again make the case against withdrawal timetables and for giving his latest troop buildup plan a chance to work.

''Failure in Iraq should be unacceptable to the civilized world.

The risks are enormous,'' Bush said.

Congress passed the legislation last week but waited until today, the fourth anniversary of Bush prematurely declaring the end of major combat in Iraq, to send the measure to the White House.

WASTEFUL OR NOT URGENT Nearly 100 billion dollars of the 124 billion dollar bill would fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year. The rest would fund domestic projects Bush claims are either wasteful or not urgent, ranging from health care for poor children and farm aid to rebuilding southern states hit by 2005 hurricanes and increasing the minimum wage.

While Bush urgently wants the war money, he has promised to veto any bill, including this one, that contains dates for withdrawing troops, now in their fifth year of combat in Iraq.

Bush's veto would be the first with the Democratic-led Congress that began in January and only the second of his presidency. Bush's first veto came last year on a medical research bill.

Under the Democratic legislation, which won the support of only four Republicans in Congress, US troop withdrawals could begin as early as July 1 and no later than Oct. 1, with the nonbinding goal of removing all combat troops by March 31.

The war funding bill also tries to force the Pentagon to better prepare and equip troops before sending them into combat.

Republicans have accused Democrats of trying to micro-manage the war.

Democrats are expected to fall well short of the two-thirds vote they would need to overturn Bush's veto.

Anticipating that, congressional leaders are negotiating over new approaches for getting the war funds into the pipeline with conditions that Bush would accept.

Among ideas circulating on Capitol Hill are including ''benchmarks'' for measuring the Iraqi government's progress in stabilizing the country, where violence has been particularly gruesome recently.

Unclear is whether that progress would be tied to US aid to Iraq or some sort of language on US troop levels.

Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a leading voice for withdrawing from Iraq, also has talked about a short-term bill providing only about two months' worth of funds. That would give anti-war legislators more time to build support for a future bill to wind down the war.

REUTERS DH BST0147