Battle Over War Funds Escalates

The dispute between the White House and Congress over $196 billion in funding for the war in Iraq escalated as President Bush warned of imminent layoffs, the Washington Post reports. "The missions of this department are too important to be disrupted or delayed," Bush said after a series of Pentagon briefings.

Congress has linked funding to troop withdrawal. "The president demands more money to continue his failed war policy, yet he and his enablers in Congress have rejected our proposal for an additional $50 billion provided they work with us to change course in Iraq," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "He cannot have it both ways." (More Iraq stories.)