Other Democrats distance themselves from Pelosi on additional troop funding

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Some of the other leading Democrats in Congress aren't ready to echo House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's suggestion that lawmakers might hold up funding for additional troops in Iraq.

Sunday, January 7th 2007, 2:24 pm

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Some of the other leading Democrats in Congress aren't ready to echo House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's suggestion that lawmakers might hold up funding for additional troops in Iraq.

On CBS's ''Face the Nation'' today, Pelosi said Democrats won't cut off money for those troops already in Iraq -- but that President Bush would have to ''justify any additional resources.'' The comment comes as Bush puts the finishing touches on a plan that could put thousands of additional U.S. troops in Iraq in an effort to stem the sectarian violence.

But Pelosi's second-in-command in the House Democratic leadership, Steny Hoyer, told Fox News he doesn't ''want to anticipate'' that possibility. And the Democrat who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joe Biden, says Congress doesn't have the power to second-guess Bush's military strategy -- because lawmakers had voted to authorize him to wage war. Biden appeared on NBC's ''Meet the Press.''

The Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell, agreed, telling Fox News that Congress can't ''micro-manage'' the tactics in Iraq.

When asked about Pelosi's remarks, a White House spokesman said Bush welcomes any ideas on Iraq that ''lead to success.''