109th Congress / Senate / 2nd session / Vote 182

• Question: On the Amendment
• Bill: S 2766
• Vote description: Levin Amdt. No. 4320; To state the sense of Congress on United States policy on Iraq.
• Vote type: 1/2 (Help)
  A simple majority of those present and voting is required for approval or passage.
• Result: Rejected, 39-60, with 1 not voting.
• Date/time: June 22, 2006, 11:44 a.m.
• Amendment num: S.Amdt. 4320
• Republican majority opinion: No (Help)
  The position of more than 50 percent of voting Republicans. "None" means an equal split between "Yes" and "No."
• Democrat majority opinion: Yes (Help)
  The position of more than 50 percent of voting Democrats. "None" means an equal split between "Yes" and "No."

Key Vote Analysis

This vote was one of two on Democratic amendments to the annual defense appropriations bill. Both amendments called for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. This amendment, offered by Sens. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), drew support from a larger number of Democrats and a single Republican, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island), but was defeated, 60-39. This nonbinding proposal did not set a withdrawal deadline, but urged President Bush to start pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq this year.

A previous amendment, offered by Sens. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and Russell D. Feingold (D-Wis.), set a firm deadline for withdrawal. It would have required "re-deployment" of U.S. troops from Iraq to be substantially completed by July 1, 2007. The amendment was defeated 86-13. All 55 Republicans joined 31 Democrats in voting against the proposal.

The Washington Post reported that "the amendments brought out charges from both parties of election-year politicking over the U.S. military presence in Iraq, where more than 2,500 Americans have died and more than 18,000 have been wounded since the March 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Republicans also pointed to the two proposals as a sign of what they called Democratic 'disarray' within their own ranks."

The Levin-Reed amendment, which garnered the stronger support of the two, declared that U.S. Armed Forces "are stretched thin" and that "sectarian violence has surpassed the insurgency and terrorism as the main security threat in Iraq." It said, "The current open-ended commitment of United States forces in Iraq is unsustainable and a deterrent to the Iraqis making the political compromises and personnel and resource commitments that are needed for the stability and security of Iraq."

The House, with strong GOP support, passed a non-binding resolution on June 16 supporting the president's Iraq policy, rejecting a timetable for withdrawal, and expressing support for U.S. troops.

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Vote totals