BREAKING: House Judiciary Reconsiders BACKS Bush Torture Bill

[kpete]

BREAKING: House Judiciary Reconsiders, Backs Bush Torture Bill

September 20, 2006, 3:47 pm
One Vote Short

McCain
John McCain and two other Republican senators who oppose President Bush’s plan for prosecuting enemy combatants came close to winning support of the House Judiciary Committee today.

As the committee considered the Bush plan, which the House Armed Services Committee passed last week, Reps. Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) and Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.) offered an amendment substituting McCain’s approach. It failed by just one vote — 18-17 — as all the Democrats who were there and two Republicans — Flake and Rep. Bob Inglis of South Carolina — voted for it.

The amendment might have passed had two Democrats not missed the vote; the two were at a news conference on the Medicare drug benefit. A spokesman for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, one of the two, said she was rushing back for the vote but just missed it. “She’s obviously disappointed,” said the spokesman, Jonathan Beeton. “It was unfortunate timing.”

House leaders plan to bring the Bush plan to the floor next week. –Sarah Lueck

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2006/09/20/one-vote-short/