More on the war funding debate: Congress has until mid-February before the Army will cease base operations and until March before the Marines takes similar steps, according to the Pentagon. Because of the uncertainty, the Pentagon this month will send layoff notices to an unspecified number of civilian employees whose union agreements require 60 days advance notice; the layoffs would be effective next February and could apply to as many as 100,000 civilian employees and 100,000 civilian contractors. The military is unlikely to stop working to protect troops against roadside bombs until the military is out of money entirely. The Pentagon would freeze less urgent programs before stalling the research effort. It's misleading to shout from the rooftops that 100,000 DOD employees will be laid off unless Congress approves war funding immediately. But I guess it's standard procedure to issue layoff warnings. Remind me, what are they fighting over? Also important to note is that the Democratic proposal would likely have little to no practical effect if enacted into law. The measure orders that troops start coming home in 30 days _ a requirement that Bush is already on track to meet as he begins reversing this year's troop buildup in Iraq. And the 2008 goal to have most troops home is a nonbinding goal, which means Bush could ignore it. So it would not tie the hands of military commanders, as Bush suggests, nor would it force a change in strategy, as Democrats say.