Dems may try to link hate crimes legislation with defense spending
The AP reported last week that:
A senior Senate Democrat said Tuesday that he wants to use a major defense policy bill to expand federal hate crimes laws to protect gays, bring troops home from Iraq and force Baghdad to pay more toward reconstruction costs . . .
Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, suggested Democrats will try anyway, starting with a measure that would prohibit U.S. money from being spent on reconstruction and possibly other war-related costs . . . GOP lawmakers have signaled a willingness to back such a measure, depending on how it is written . . .