Rep. Obey Balances Preferences

This article describes how Dave Obey (D-WI 7th) crafted an Iraq War appropriations bills that approximated the median floor preference enough to pass the House. The bill provisionally allocates almost all of the funding sought by the Bush Administration, except it withholds most of that funding until after the release of a review of benchmarks this July. The bill is likely to be modified in a conference committee to match its provisions with those of the most similar Senate bill that passes, if a similar measure does come to pass there. A notable dimension in negotiating a passable bill is the difference between merely having benchmarks that might or might no be attainable and having a timetable with definitive dates; this article states that Bush supports the former, likely due to not being as time-bound as the latter.