By Josh Rogin, CQ Staff

Poland’s agreement this week to host a U.S. missile defense site has increased chances that the final version of fiscal 2009 spending legislation will give President Bush the funding he wants for a European-based system designed to protect from an Iranian missile attack.

The deal signed on Aug. 20 by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski removes one of the hurdles Democrats in Congress had placed on disbursing the money in both authorization and spending bills under consideration by lawmakers.

The Bush administration had wanted to break ground on a site in Poland for missile interceptors and a radar site in the Czech Republic before leaving office — a timetable that took on greater urgency in Poland following Russia’s Aug. 7 invasion and subsequent occupation of neighboring Georgia.

Key to improved chances for the funding is support from conservative Senate Democrats, frustrating House Democrats, who still prefer a more cautious approach to missile defense.

“With both the Czech Republic and Poland recently signing agreements with the United States, I am confident that we will be able to come to some kind of consensus,” said Sen. Ben Nelson , D-Neb.

Nelson is one of several lawmakers and aides who predicted the final version of the fiscal 2009 defense authorization measure (HR 5658, S 3001) would be modified to reflect the new developments. He said he also would support funding for the Polish site in the Senate’s military construction and veterans affairs spending bill (S 3301).

Nelson’s support is critical because he represents one of two non-Republican senators whose support could tip the balance in favor of funding the sites. The other is Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman , I-Conn.

During the Senate Appropriations Committee’s markup of the military construction bill July 17, Nelson worked with Kay Bailey Hutchison , R-Texas, to restore $98 million of funding for the Czech site that the subcommittee version of the bill had recommended cut from the request. Lawmakers rejected most of Bush’s proposed funding for the Polish site.

Meeting Conditions

Appropriators and Armed Services panels in both the House and Senate had conditioned funding for the European sites on four major elements. They include ratification of the agreements by the Czech and Polish Polish parliaments, which could occur by the end of the year; a required analysis of alternatives by an independent research group, which was was completed and sent to Congress in July, and certification by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates that the missile defense system can actually shoot down incoming missiles.

“Every objection has been addressed and every demand raised by the Democrats has now been met,” said Senate Armed Services panel member James M. Inhofe , R-Okla. “It is now left to Congress to act swiftly in fully funding the European site.”

Added one Senate GOP aide: “Republicans will think they have a very strong hand now. They’re argument will be that NATO wants it, Poland wants it, the Czech Republic wants it, so why don’t the Democrats want it?”

The Senate Armed Services Committee version of the defense authorization bill would allow full funding of the system, but the House version (HR 5658) drastically reduces the administration’s spending authority.