Preventing War
Iran

Schedual for Congress in 2008

Outcomes from '07

SENATE RESOLUTION 580--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE ON PREVENTING IRAN FROM ACQUIRING A NUCLEAR WEAPONS CAPABILITY

National Security Legislative Calendar
April 14, 2008

The mark-up or writing of the second portion of the Fiscal Year 2008 Supplemental Appropriations Bill, totaling about $108 billion, is still floating in the air. The House Appropriations Committee mark-up could be this week, next week or later. The Senate Appropriations Committee has set a tentative date for mark-up of the same bill on April 23.

At this point, the bill could become a "Christmas tree" on which to hang many amendments: setting a deadline for bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq, mandates for training and equipping troops, longer rest time between deployments, blocking a long-term commitment to the Iraqi government, requiring U.S. reconstruction assistance to be considered loans to Iraq and increasing education benefits for veterans. The bill may also be the vehicle for amendments dealing with domestic needs such as extending unemployment benefits, dealing with a 2010 census funding shortfall, fighting wildfires, funding Head Start and creating a summer jobs program.

The bill also may be separated into two bills -- one to pay for the war in Afghanistran and second to pay for the war in Iraq.

KEY NATIONAL SECURITY BILLS TO BE CONSIDERED IN 2008
FISCAL YEAR 2009 BUDGET RESOLUTION

Both chambers approved the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Resolution. There were no challenges in the Senate to the military budget requested by the Bush Administration: $542 billion for defense budget authority (function 050 in the budget) plus $70 billion as a down payment for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the House, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) offered a Progressive Caucus alternative budget that would have cut the defense budget authority to $468 billion, $69 billion less than requested. The amendment failed 98 - 322.

However, when considering the "soft power"portion of the federal budget (including the State Department budget, peacekeeping, international organizations and foreign assistance), the Senate voted 73 - 23 for a Biden (D-DE) - Lugar (R-IN) amendment to restore $4.1 billion to the international affairs budget that the Senate Budget Committee had cut. As the Senate has now approved the Administration request of $39.8 billion and the House approved $1.5 billion less, the final number will have to be worked out in a House-Senate conference.
A House-Senate conference to resolve differences between the two versions of the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Resolution is on-going.

FISCAL YEAR 2009 DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL
On February 4, the President sent the annual military budget to Congress. The budget totals $515.4 billion for Pentagon activities. However, adding funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (estimated by Defense Secretary Robert Gates at roughly $170 billion) plus the nuclear weapons portion of the Department of Energy budget, the total exceeds $700 billion. The Senate and House Budget Committees will take the first legislative action on the budget.

Some highlights of the request:
=This budget exceeds last years by 7.5%
=Total missile defense funding is $12.3 billion, including $720 million for the third missile defense site in Europe
=$414.1 million for Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction non-proliferation fund
=$30 million for the Reliable Replacement Warhead
Click here for a more detailed analysis of the budget.

Note: There is widespread speculation that Congress will not pass many or any of the Fiscal Year 2009 Appropriations Bill, both because of a short legislative season and because majority Democrats will hope to produce better bills signed by a Democratic President in 2009.

H.R. 5056, the “Iran Diplomatic Accountability Act of 2008.”
To provide for the appointment of a high-level United States representative
or special envoy for Iran for the purpose of easing tensions and normalizing
relations between the United States and Iran.

GAO just issued this report, entitled: Iran Sanctions:
Impact in Furthering US Objectives is Unclear and Should be Reviewed
The report was prepared at the request of Rep Shays (R-CT).
Read Full Report (60 pages)

What GAO Recommends:
"Congress should consider requiring the National Security Council, in
collaboration with key agencies, to (1) assess data on Iran sanctions
and complete an overall baseline assessment of sanctions, (2) develop
a framework for ongoing assessments, and (3) periodically report the
results to Congress."