Obama contacts Hill about Afghan decision
At least 31 members from both parties and chambers have been invited to a meeting with the president before his address to the nation on Tuesday night.
With many members of his own party balking at paying for more troops and the prospect of years of more war in Afghanistan, President Obama has launched a major effort to rally support on Capitol Hill for the war policies he will unveil in an address to the nation on Tuesday night.
The president gave his orders to the military Sunday night and started a round of phone calls to allied leaders and leaders in Congress. That effort at consultation will peak with a large meeting at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. At least 31 members from both parties and both chambers have been invited.
"Consultations with Congress will continue throughout Monday and tomorrow in the run-up to the speech," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said this morning. That meeting, now scheduled for 4 p.m., will be the last thing the president will do before leaving for West Point, N.Y., where he will deliver the speech.
"It is going to be the bipartisan, bicameral leadership as well as a number of the committees of jurisdiction whether it's Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Relations and different segments of the Appropriations" committees, said Gibbs.
Gibbs acknowledged that some members are concerned about how to pay for the war, but said, "I don't want to get broader than the fact that both today and tomorrow and certainly in that meeting, there will be consultations with Congress on strategy."
Those concerns are certain to surface when Congress opens hearings on U.S. policy in Afghanistan. And they were behind a bill introduced earlier this month by House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., and other Democrats to impose a war surtax beginning in 2011.
The bill's sponsors include House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha, D-Pa.; House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson of Connecticut, and eight other Democratic members.
In a statement, Obey, Murtha and Larson said the war appears likely to last another decade and cost $1 trillion with no one sure where the money will come from. "We believe that's wrong," they said. "Regardless of whether one favors the war or not, if it is to be fought, it ought to be paid for."
Their bill requires the president to set the surtax so that it fully pays for the previous year's war.
Gibbs declined to take a position on the surtax, saying he has "not heard of any discussions" at the White House about such an idea.
Gibbs said Tuesday's White House meeting will be similar to one held Oct. 6 when 14 senators and 17 House members met with the president and Vice President Joe Biden to discuss Afghan policy.
In addition, other key congressional committees will hold hearings this week on Obama's Afghanistan strategy with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Michael Mullen.
The officials are expected to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee Wednesday morning, and the House Foreign Relations Committee later that afternoon. On Thursday, they will testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, followed by the House Armed Services Committee.