BAGHDAD (AP) _ The Iraqi Cabinet canceled a meeting to discuss the U.S.-Iraqi security pact Sunday, saying proposals for amendments to an earlier draft were still being submitted, a government adviser said. It was the latest setback to U.S. hopes to reach a quick agreement on a deal that would extend the presence of American forces beyond the end of this year. Sadiq al-Rikabi said Sunday’s extraordinary meeting was canceled because “proposals are still arriving.” The Cabinet routinely meets on Tuesdays. The government planned to send new proposals to the Americans for changes in the draft, which has been negotiated since early this year. But the draft has faced opposition from a number of critics who consider the deal an infringement on national sovereignty, especially a provision that would continue to give the U.S. the right to prosecute American soldiers and contractors for most offenses. The pact would replace the U.N. mandate providing a legal basis for foreign forces in Iraq that expires Dec. 31. Iraq’s Cabinet decided last week to ask for changes after key Shiite lawmakers warned the deal stands little chance of approval in its current form. The decision also raised doubts that the agreement can be ratified before a new American president is elected Nov. 4. Al-Maliki has said he won’t submit the agreement to parliament unless the Cabinet overwhelmingly approves it. If the Iraqi parliament fails to approve the draft before the U.N. mandate expires on Dec. 31, there would be no legal basis for the U.S.-led military mission. That could force Iraq and the U.S. to ask the Security Council to extend the mandate. The proposed security pact called for all U.S. combat forces to be removed from Iraqi cities by June 2009 and for all forces to leave the country by the end of 2011, unless both sides agree to an extension. Also Sunday, a lawmaker said Iraq’s long-stalled oil and gas law has finally been sent by the Cabinet to parliament for discussion. The move sets the stage for a new public debate over how to manage the country’s vast oil wealth, which Iraq needs to finance the reconstruction of the country, even as world oil prices have been falling. Abdul-Hadi al-Hassani, the deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee on oil, gas and natural resources, said the panel is reviewing the bill to prepare it for the full legislature. “We started working on it today,” al-Hassani told The Associated Press in a phone interview Sunday. He did not say when it will be put to the floor. Iraq’s Cabinet endorsed the bill in February 2007 but disputes later emerged between the Kurds and central government, mainly over who has the final say in managing oil and gas fields. Since then, the measure has gone through four versions. Meanwhile, rare thunderstorms hit swaths of the country over the weekend. The rain was welcomed by many, but it also flooded many streets and turned sidewalks into mush âÄî drawing new complaints about the government’s failure to provide basic services despite recent security gains. “It is shameful that the capital should be in this miserable situation because of rain in spite of all that we heard about municipality projects to be done for Baghdad’s roads and sewage systems,” said Hamid al-Azami, a 45-year-old store owner in the neighborhood of Azamiyah. “The municipality services are taking care of minor things like cleaning gardens at squares in Baghdad and planting roses and neglecting the most important thing of rebuilding the capital’s damaged infrastructure, he said. Other Iraqis, particularly farmers, welcomed the rain after months of drought. “It was so dry last year that I wasn’t able to harvest anything, but thanks to God the rain this year will bring blessings with it,” said Karim Eysa, a 60-year-old farmer in Bashiqa, near the northern city of Mosul. “I have a family to feed and sheep also will have enough grass to feed on.”