On Monday, GOP Ohio Senator George Voinovich joined almost every Republican Senator to stymie a debate on Iraq. But now Voinovich and six other Republicans are trying to force a vote on the measure. Voinovich doesn't regret stalling the debate. But he wants to force Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to address the issue. "What I do regret is that it seemed to me like both of them were walking away from it and said, 'Well, we've washed our hands of that one. We got out from making that tough vote. We've covered our members, okay,'" Voinovich says.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid doubts the Senate can return to Iraq until the end of the month after the Presidents Day recess. "I would hope that we get back to it the first week we come back after the recess," Reid says. "That's our goal and we're going to see if we can do that." Voinovich says it's critical the public knows where lawmakers stand on Iraq. And a vote would put them on record.
