Free Republic

Boren opposes, Republicans support possible troop increase in Iraq Reaction among Oklahoma's congressional delegation to President Bush's proposed troop increases in Iraq - which he discussed in a nationally televised address Wednesday night - fell mostly along party lines. Rep. Dan Boren of Muskogee, the only Democrat among Oklahoma's seven-person delegation, said he opposed Bush's plan to add 21,500 more troops, saying such an increase "does little to encourage the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future." But four Republicans in the delegation said that such troop increases will help speed the process of helping Iraqi forces to secure...

WASHINGTON - Two dozen House Republicans, including three committee chairmen, have asked Speaker Dennis Hastert not to use a congressional budget procedure to clear the way for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. They said in a letter to Hastert, R-Ill., that the budget process "is an inappropriate venue to be debating this important environmental issue" and warned that it would further complicate already difficult budget issues. "We believe the debate on opening this unique land to oil and gas exploration should be done outside the budget process," said the group led by Rep. Jeb Bradley...