In the weeks since the House and Senate each narrowly passed emergency supplemental appropriations bills, the president and congressional Democrats have engaged in a rhetorical battle over additional items above the president's record request, as well as language calling for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Bush has issued almost daily attacks against the bills since they passed, calling them attempts to "micromanage" the war and fund unnecessary projects. The two sides are scheduled to meet at the White House April 18, but the war of words is not expected to abate anytime soon. Despite similarities, the House and Senate versions differ significantly in terms of the troop withdrawal schedules and minimum wage tax packages added to the president's request, differences that will need to be worked out in conference. The House bill includes a timetable requiring final troop withdrawal to begin by March 1, 2008, with the process to be completed by August 31, 2008. The Senate bill calls for the beginning of U.S. troop redeployment within 120 days of enactment, with a non-binding "goal" of withdrawing all combat forces by March 31, 2008. In addition, both bills raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour over two years but have different tax cut provisions that accompany the wage increases. The House provides $1.3 billion in small business tax breaks, with a roughly equal amount of offsets, while the Senate has now increased the total cost of its tax provisions from $8.3 billion to $12.6 billion, with $13.8 billion in offsets. The president has promised to veto both the House and Senate versions, despite the fact that the final product from the conference committee is unknown, and the panel may yet emerge with the Senate's non-binding troop withdrawal language. Democrats in Congress might be inclined to accommodate the administration's demands for a "clean" bill — one without the withdrawal provisions and the $20 billion in additional funding. But there is very little room for maneuver within their own caucuses. Given close votes in both the House (218-212) and Senate (51-47), any significant changes in the conference report could reduce vital Democratic support that would likely be needed to pass a final version of the bill. Moreover, a Washington Post-ABC News poll reported in the Post on April 17 shows that 51 percent of Americans support a deadline for withdrawing from Iraq, and 65 percent oppose the president's surge plan. Further, 58 percent trust the Democrats to do a better job of handling situation in Iraq as opposed to 33 percent who trust Bush more. The polling provides strong support for withdrawal of troops from Iraq, encouraging Democrats who are pressuring the president for a plan to get out of the war. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has expressed clear confidence in his party's confrontational approach, saying that Democrats are "going to pick up Senate seats as a result of this war." Congressional Democrats may have trouble altering the domestic spending provisions added to the bill for similar reasons — because eliminating them may imperil Democratic support for the supplemental. House and Senate conferees may meet as early as April 17, with the White House-Congress supplemental summit meeting scheduled for the following day. Few expect either side to back away at that meeting from what could become a constitutional conflict. For now, both the president and Majority Leader Reid both seem intent on a first legislative round that ends in veto.