By Megan Scully CongressDaily

As the bitter debate on Iraq continues to rage across Capitol Hill, efforts to draft House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton’s first defense authorization bill this week could get mired in partisan battles over the increasingly unpopular war, as well as deep cuts in missile defense and the Army’s ambitious modernization program.

Committee members, many of whom have military bases in their districts, are keenly aware that sacrificing the bill to make a statement on the war would be a big gamble. If President Bush vetoes their bill because of provisions addressing future U.S. troop strength in Iraq, they know they will have lost their best chance to put their stamp on defense policy and spending priorities.

“We very much recognize that if our bill doesn’t become law, that we will have accomplished nothing,” said House Armed Services Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee Chairman Gene Taylor, D-Miss. Read more…

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