Democrats don't agree on key issues

WASHINGTON - Divided by their liberal and moderate wings, congressional Democrats return from a monthlong recess without consensus on how to tackle several pressing issues, including Iraq and warrantless wiretaps.

Democrats control both chambers, but lack the numbers to override President Bush's vetoes of bids to mandate troop withdrawals from Iraq. They also have failed to significantly rewrite the administration's electronic-surveillance programs.

That leaves party leaders squeezed between two camps when the House and Senate reconvene today.

Antiwar lawmakers say any Iraq-related legislation that falls short of triggering troop withdrawals is pointless and gives voters the impression there is no sharp division between the two parties.

More moderate Democrats want to pursue proposals to require the administration to rest troops more often and draw up redeployment plans, even if such efforts strike some as more symbolic than substantive.

Democratic leaders tried to narrow the gap with conference calls during the recess, including one Aug. 23 that drew more than 100 House Democrats. Participants said no detailed plan emerged, in part because many lawmakers wanted to wait for September reports on Iraq from the Government Accountability Office and the Bush administration.

"The main goal is to continue to keep pressure on the Republicans to change direction in Iraq through their votes, not just through their words," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democrats' House campaign committee. "Exactly what form that takes is still being worked out."

Some Democrats want the House and Senate to continue passing Iraq-related measures even if a Bush veto is likely. One example: a measure the House passed in early August to require longer visits home for U.S. troops facing repeated deployments in Iraq. The Senate, where most Republicans opposed a similar bill, rejected the idea.

House Democrats said they were unsure whether they would try to use a supplemental spending bill for Iraq - which Bush is expected to request this fall - to pursue policy changes. Party leaders also were mulling legislation to require a partial troop drawdown by Christmas and a bill that would require the Pentagon to submit a report on redeployment planning.

Democrats also were debating how to address the administration's warrantless-surveillance program.

The White House sought greater leeway to intercept, without court warrants, foreign-based terror suspects' communications that pass through the United States, even when an American who is not a suspect is on the other end.

Democrats wanted a narrower law to make it harder to eavesdrop on an American's communications without promptly obtaining a warrant from a special court. But their efforts collapsed, and both chambers approved an administration-backed measure that civil libertarians say could allow too much warrantless surveillance.

The new law expires in six months. Some Democrats have vowed to try to rewrite it as early as this month.

Following the round of August conference calls, however, leaders agreed to hold a series of House and Senate committee hearings before drafting new legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) told colleagues in an Aug. 14 letter that he hoped the Senate would consider "as soon as possible a bill reported by your committees that addresses the deficiencies in the recently enacted law."

House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (R., Mo.) said in a recent interview: "There will be a tremendous pushback on that" as GOP lawmakers defend Bush's position.