Setting a date

Did you see the House vote this morning? (The link is the same as from my last post.) HR 861 was passed 256 to 153, with 3 GOP voting against, and 42 Dems voting for. After a lot of "Whereas" clauses, it reads:

Resolved, That the House of Representatives–

1. honors all those Americans who have taken an active part in the Global War on Terror, whether as first responders protecting the homeland, as servicemembers overseas, as diplomats and intelligence officers, or in other roles;
2. honors the sacrifices of the United States Armed Forces and of partners in the Coalition, and of the Iraqis and Afghans who fight alongside them, especially those who have fallen or been wounded in the struggle, and honors as well the sacrifices of their families and of others who risk their lives to help defend freedom;
3. declares that it is not in the national security interest of the United States to set an arbitrary date for the withdrawal or redeployment of United States Armed Forces from Iraq;
4. declares that the United States is committed to the completion of the mission to create a sovereign, free, secure, and united Iraq;
5. congratulates Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and the Iraqi people on the courage they have shown by participating, in increasing millions, in the elections of 2005 and on the formation of the first government under Iraq’s new constitution;
6. calls upon the nations of the world to promote global peace and security by standing with the United States and other Coalition partners to support the efforts of the Iraqi and Afghan people to live in freedom; and
7. declares that the United States will prevail in the Global War on Terror, the noble struggle to protect freedom from the terrorist adversary.

This follows on the heels of the 93-6 vote in the Senate to reject a timeline.

And as usual, Scrappleface has the best summary:

(2006-06-15) — After the Senate voted 93-6 today against setting a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq, Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy held a news conference to announce that his 93 colleagues are “clearly out of the mainstream of American opinion.”
Senators Kennedy and John Kerry of Massachusetts voted for the timeline, along with Democrat Senators Tom Harkin of Iowa, Barbara Boxer of California, Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin.
“The six of us represent the heart’s cry of every red-blooded American,” said Sen. Kennedy. “We hear the voice of the people, and the people say they want immediate, unconditional withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.”
Senator Kerry, the presumptive runner-up for the 2008 Democrat presidential nomination, criticized the legislation introduced by Republicans as a cheap stunt designed to preempt his own forthcoming Iraq pullout bill.
“I have a plan for a strategic withdrawal from Iraq,” said Sen. Kerry. “I plan to release my plan about the same time the Democrat National Committee unveils its plan for America’s future, or right after Microsoft releases its new Vista operating system, whichever comes first.”

Note that the Senate bill was to set a date and was defeated, while the House resolution was to not set a date, and was passed. Note also that the Senate bill was proposed by Kerry, yet he called bringing the measure to a vote a "political maneuver"