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Thursday, March 22, 2007
Emanuel confident Dems have the votes on Iraq bill
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As the House is set to begin debate on a spending bill that requires all troops to withdraw from Iraq by the fall of 2008, Democratic Caucus Chair Rahm Emanuel, D-Illinois, told CNN Thursday he is hopeful his party has enough votes to pass the measure.

Emanuel said he and the other Democratic leaders are currently "one or two" votes away from the needed 218 to pass the measure, but is "optimistic" they will get there.

This comes as top House Democrats face a divided caucus between the more progressive members who want to withdraw immediately from the war-torn country and moderate members who are weary of setting a firm timetable. Emanuel said his latest vote pickups came from members of the progressive wing who had previously expressed reservations with the delayed timetable.

-- CNN Congressional Correspondent Andrea Koppel
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