US Senate says no to pullout of US troops from Iraq

Wednesday, July 18, 2007 

After a rare all-night session, the United States Senate voted today at 11 a.m. EST on the motion to invoke cloture of the Levin/Reed Amendment (S.Amdt. 2087) which would begin a pullout of United States troops from Iraq, but only 52 votes were cast in favor of the amendment and 47 were cast against it, falling short of the 60 votes needed to overcome the Republican filibuster of the measure.

Cots were brought in for the Senators to catch snatches of sleep during the long night, while some slept at their Washington, D.C. apartments for short periods of time. Pizza was brought in for senators to eat. Seven Democrats left the Senate floor to join a candlelight vigil held outside across the street from Congress.

Had the bill passed, troops would have left Iraq 120 days after the vote, and would have been out of the country by April of 2008.

Four Republican critics of the war — both of Maine's senators, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, together with Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Gordon Smith of Oregon — voted for the proposal. Collins' was a surprise vote; although a critic, she has not been favorable toward the deadline approach. Joe Lieberman, the Independent Democrat senator from Connecticut, who caucuses with Democrats, voted with Republicans against the motion, as he has done with all Iraq war legislation this year.

Last night during the all-night senate debate, Democratic Majority Leader from Nevada, Harry Reid, asked that the Senate vote on the bill this morning. He later voted no on the motion in order to take advantage of Senate rules to reintroduce the measure.

After the motion failed, Reid proposed that the Senate look at a series of Iraq proposals, including the failed plan, and make them subject to a simple majority vote. Mitch McConnell, the Republican Minority Leader from Kentucky objected, and Reid withdrew the legislation from the floor. The Senate then moved on to discussing student loans and grants.

Throughout the night, the Senators took turns speaking in front of a large sign printed "Let Us Vote", speaking in favor of the amendment and against the Republicans for not allowing a simple majority vote. Republicans took turns decrying it, noting that Democrats did the same when they were the minority, and criticizing Democratic leaders.

How they voted

The following is a breakdown of how the Senators voted on the motion of cloture for the Levin/Reed Amendment (S.Amdt. 2087) grouped by state:

Alabama: Sessions (R-AL), Nay Shelby (R-AL), Nay Alaska: Murkowski (R-AK), Nay Stevens (R-AK), Nay Arizona: Kyl (R-AZ), Nay McCain (R-AZ), Nay Arkansas: Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Pryor (D-AR), Yea California: Boxer (D-CA), Yea Feinstein (D-CA), Yea Colorado: Allard (R-CO), Nay Salazar (D-CO), Yea Connecticut: Dodd (D-CT), Yea Lieberman (ID-CT), Nay Delaware: Biden (D-DE), Yea Carper (D-DE), Yea Florida: Martinez (R-FL), Nay Nelson (D-FL), Yea Georgia: Chambliss (R-GA), Nay Isakson (R-GA), Nay Hawaii: Akaka (D-HI), Yea Inouye (D-HI), Yea Idaho: Craig (R-ID), Nay Crapo (R-ID), Nay Illinois: Durbin (D-IL), Yea Obama (D-IL), Yea Indiana: Bayh (D-IN), Yea Lugar (R-IN), Nay Iowa: Grassley (R-IA), Nay Harkin (D-IA), Yea Kansas: Brownback (R-KS), Nay Roberts (R-KS), Nay Kentucky: Bunning (R-KY), Nay McConnell (R-KY), Nay

Louisiana: Landrieu (D-LA), Yea Vitter (R-LA), Nay Maine: Collins (R-ME), Yea Snowe (R-ME), Yea Maryland: Cardin (D-MD), Yea Mikulski (D-MD), Yea Massachusetts: Kennedy (D-MA), Yea Kerry (D-MA), Yea Michigan: Levin (D-MI), Yea Stabenow (D-MI), Yea Minnesota: Coleman (R-MN), Nay Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea Mississippi: Cochran (R-MS), Nay Lott (R-MS), Nay Missouri: Bond (R-MO), Nay McCaskill (D-MO), Yea Montana: Baucus (D-MT), Yea Tester (D-MT), Yea Nebraska: Hagel (R-NE), Yea Nelson (D-NE), Yea Nevada: Ensign (R-NV), Nay Reid (D-NV), Nay New Hampshire: Gregg (R-NH), Nay Sununu (R-NH), Nay New Jersey: Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea Menendez (D-NJ), Yea New Mexico: Bingaman (D-NM), Yea Domenici (R-NM), Nay New York: Clinton (D-NY), Yea Schumer (D-NY), Yea North Carolina: Burr (R-NC), Nay Dole (R-NC), Nay North Dakota: Conrad (D-ND), Yea Dorgan (D-ND), Yea

Ohio: Brown (D-OH), Yea Voinovich (R-OH), Nay Oklahoma: Coburn (R-OK), Nay Inhofe (R-OK), Nay Oregon: Smith (R-OR), Yea Wyden (D-OR), Yea Pennsylvania: Casey (D-PA), Yea Specter (R-PA), Nay Rhode Island: Reed (D-RI), Yea Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea South Carolina: DeMint (R-SC), Nay Graham (R-SC), Nay South Dakota: Johnson (D-SD), Not Voting Thune (R-SD), Nay Tennessee: Alexander (R-TN), Nay Corker (R-TN), Nay Texas: Cornyn (R-TX), Nay Hutchison (R-TX), Nay Utah: Bennett (R-UT), Nay Hatch (R-UT), Nay Vermont: Leahy (D-VT), Yea Sanders (I-VT), Yea Virginia: Warner (R-VA), Nay Webb (D-VA), Yea Washington: Cantwell (D-WA), Yea Murray (D-WA), Yea West Virginia: Byrd (D-WV), Yea Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea Wisconsin: Feingold (D-WI), Yea Kohl (D-WI), Yea Wyoming: Barrasso (R-WY), Nay Enzi (R-WY), Nay

Related news

• "US Senate to vote on troop pullout from Iraq today" — Wikinews, July 18, 2007

Sources

• Senate Democrats stymied on Iraq withdrawal vote. "Senate Democrats stymied on Iraq withdrawal vote" — Reuters, July 18, 2007
• Anne Flaherty. "Senate Scuttles Troop Withdrawal Bill" — ABC News, July 18, 2007
• Carl Hulse and Jeff Zelney. "Democrats Fail to Force Vote on Iraq Pullout" — The New York Times, July 18, 2007
• Shailagh Murray and Paul Kane. "Senate Rejects Troop Withdrawal Measure" — The Washington Post, July 18, 2007
• Avi Zenilman. "Eyewitness: Senate's all-nighter" — The Politco, July 18, 2007
• "US Senate Moving On Bill To Cut Student Lender Subsidies" — Dow Jones Newswires, July 18, 2007
• "On the Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Levin Amdt. No. 2087)" — United States Senate, July 18, 2007