About half of the President's State of the Union addressed foreign policy. Capitol Hill reporter Laura Strickler caught up with San Diego Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter, on what Bush's words might mean for troops in Iraq.
As Chair of the House Armed Services Committee, Hunter frequently visits the troops. He says when it comes to returning soldiers to their bases in San Diego, commanders are following military, not political goals.
But Democrats say the standards the military uses for replacing American troops with Iraqis is unclear.
The President also urged Congress to control earmarks - or add-ons that members use to win favor back home or with campaign contributors.
For example - former Congressman Randy Duke Cunningham added an earmark to an appropriations bill for a foundation connected to MZM. But Hunter says the military funding decisions he makes are sometimes better than the Pentagon.
Hunter: "The jammer was not added by the Pentagon and that has saved lives and that reflects on the validity."
He says members of the Armed Services Committee are directed to make those decisions in the Constitution. From Capitol Hill, Laura Strickler, KPBS news."
