Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic Representative John Murtha, chairman of a House subcommittee on defense spending, said he will try to block the increase of U.S. forces in Iraq and force the closing of a military prison in Guantanamo Bay by withholding funds for those operations.

Murtha said his panel will draft a set of conditions to be attached to the emergency spending legislation for military operations that President George W. Bush is to submit to lawmakers next month.

``We have a role as elected officials to exert our influence through the power of the purse,'' said Murtha. ``We're going to look at every aspect'' of the funding request.

Bush this week said he plans to deploy 21,500 more troops to Iraq in an attempt to defeat insurgents and end violence. The Defense Department submitted a request to the White House last month for $99.7 billion more in emergency funding to pay for military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the war on terror, which would bring such spending in fiscal 2007 to a record $170 billion.

Bush said he will push forward with his plan to send more U.S. troops even if Congress tries to block him by withholding money in an interview to be broadcast Sunday on CBS's ``60 Minutes.''

``I fully understand'' Congress ``could try to stop me from doing it,'' Bush said. ``But I made my decision, and we're going forward.''

CBS ran an excerpt from that interview on the CBS Evening News tonight.

Claims Authority

Asked whether he believes he has the authority to send the troops no matter what Congress does, Bush said, ``In this situation I do.''

Murtha, of Pennsylvania, said that while he would prevent funds in the emergency request from being used to increase the number of troops in Iraq, he wouldn't withhold funds from forces already deployed.

``Obviously, we'll keep funding them,'' he said.

Democratic leaders in both chambers are drafting nonbinding resolutions in opposition to Bush's troop-surge proposal and are weighing options that could tie further funding for military operations to curtailed U.S. involvement in Iraq.

Murtha said that resolutions would be ``statements'' that the administration would be able to override or ignore. Spending measures are the most effective way for Congress to change Iraq policy, he said.

Appropriations Process

``Through the appropriations process, that's the legitimate way we do it,'' Murtha told reporters after attending a meeting of Democratic lawmakers on Iraq.

Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who chairs the Armed Services Committee, said Bush critics may blunder by immediately offering a measure that goes beyond a nonbinding resolution. If the tougher measure is defeated, it would hand Bush a victory, he said.

``The last thing I want to do is to offer or propose something which, if defeated, would be used by the administration then to say that the Congress'' supports his new policy, Levin told reporters after a hearing on Iraq.

Levin said a resolution, if approved by large bipartisan majorities in both chambers, ``will have a significant impact on the president.''

Republican Leaders

Other measures should be considered only if the resolution fails to dissuade Bush, he said.

Republican leaders in both chambers continue to back Bush's call for a surge in military personnel.

``Having additional troops to support the Iraqi troops, I think makes sense if we're serious about securing Baghdad,'' said House Minority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican.

Still, the president faces doubts among some lawmakers of his own party. Bush is hosting Republican leaders from both chambers, including Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, at Camp David for a two-day meeting beginning today to discuss Iraq.

So far, a dozen Senate Republicans have said they oppose Bush's plan to add more troops, and House Republican leaders convened a closed door ``listening session'' in the basement of the Capitol today to air the concerns of lawmakers.

`Dose of Skepticism'

``There is a healthy dose of skepticism about whether we will fundamentally change the situation on the ground,'' said Representative Adam Putnam of Florida, the No. 3 House Republican leader.

Murtha said he is also considering adding provisions to the spending legislation that would end the extension of tours of duty, prevent the establishment of permanent bases in Iraq and set clear policies to prevent the torture of captured insurgents.

Jennifer Crider, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said Pelosi has encouraged Murtha to explore the possibility of attaching conditions to funding for Iraq war operations and she will examine his proposals.

``It's something she's definitely encouraged him to do,'' Crider said.

David Obey, a Wisconsin Democrat who is chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said it will be difficult for lawmakers to block the policy because part of the troop increase will come from extending the tours of forces already in Iraq.

``It's pretty hard to stop the president from building up with troops who are already there,'' Obey said.

Guantanamo Prison

The prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been controversial since it opened in January 2002 to hold suspected terrorists. Amnesty International, a human-rights organization, has called it a ``gulag of our times'' and the United Nations said it should be closed.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated military tribunals at the prison, ruling that the trials fail to follow the 1949 Geneva conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war.

Murtha said he would ``just cut the money out'' of future spending bills to force its closure, along with the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, which was at the center of a prisoner abuse scandal.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said yesterday that a nonbinding resolution the Senate will take up as early as next week may have an effect on Bush's plans. So far, 12 Senate Republicans are on record opposing the increase in troops, he noted, and the vote will demonstrate that the near-universal support Bush has enjoyed from congressional Republicans for the war is crumbling.

`Foreign Policy Blunder'

``I think that will be the beginning of the end of the war in Iraq, I really do,'' Reid said. He views the war, he said, as ``the biggest foreign policy blunder ever.''

Reid said he doesn't rule out further nonbinding resolutions that could call for a scaling back of the war effort, or so-called ``policy riders'' that could be added to Bush's forthcoming request for more funds.

Democratic leaders are wrestling with the question of what they can do, under the Constitution, to rein-in the commander- in-chief, while understanding that they will need to get 60 votes in the Senate to pass any proposal, said Richard Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat.

To contact the reporters on this story: Nicholas Johnston in Washington at njohnston3@bloomberg.net or Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 12, 2007 19:08 EST