Meanwhile in Washington, the White House continues to trade barbs with Democratic leaders over the war-funding bill calling for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. The measure says U.S. troops should begin withdrawing no later than October 1 with a deadline of April of next year. On Tuesday, President Bush accused Democrats of political opportunism.

President Bush: “They know I’m going to veto a bill containing these provisions, and they know that my veto will be sustained. But instead of fashioning a bill I could sign, the Democratic leaders chose to further delay funding our troops, and they choose to make a political statement. That’s their right. But it is wrong for our troops, and it’s wrong for our country.”

The House is set to vote on the bill today, followed by the Senate on Thursday. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called on the Bush administration to negotiate.

Sen. Harry Reid: “The president and his people should talk to us. We are legislators. We are people who believe that legislation is the art of compromise. But the president, who has for six years not had to deal with this pesky little thing we have in the Constitution called the legislative branch of government, has to get used to us. We’re here. We’re part of the Constitution.”