GOP slams Pelosi's Iraq funding actions

WASHINGTON, April 29 (UPI) -- U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's attempt to bypass the appropriations committee on the pending Iraq war funding measure is a power grab, Republicans say.

Democratic staffers say the $178 billion bill spent the weekend in pre-conference meetings to streamline it for quick passage, but Republicans worry the move is an attempt to skirt normal democratic procedures to push weighty issues through when the political climate is in favor of the Democrats, the Politico said Tuesday.

"For anyone who cares about the institution, this goes against the democratic process. Someone who is confident of her position would have no problem going through regular order," says Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho.

Pelosi, D-Calif., has a track record of moving key bills through the House.

She pushed the economic stimulus through the House and froze the contentious Columbia free trade bill, the report said, adding that her focus on Iraq measures is what some say gave her the impetus to become the first woman speaker.

"Nancy Pelosi is speaker because the Democrats ran a national campaign in 2006 and their key focal point was Iraq. ... The Democrats as a party have to show their base they are still trying to get out," said Brown University congressional expert Wendy Schiller.