Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 1591, the Democrat Fiscal Year 2007 Emergency Supplemental Appropriation bill by a vote of 218 to 212. The supplemental puts in place an inflexible timeline with a date certain for withdrawal (March 2008), micromanages our commanders on the ground, and undermines and slows the efforts of out troops.
“This legislation sends a negative message to our troops in combat who deserve to be sent the resources and reinforcements they need to succeed in their mission in Iraq without strings and without delay,” said Conaway. “There are only two positions to take on this war: fight the fight and be successful in our efforts or stop the war and get out of Iraq today. There is no middle ground. The ramifications of failure are unspeakable and will result in regional conflict and humanitarian suffering on a vast scale.”
Also included in the war supplemental were items such as hurricane programs, spinach programs, drought relief, and more non-war funding items. The supplemental appropriations bill is intended to fund the Global War on Terror. President Bush has said he will veto any legislation that weakens national security and hinders the ability of troops to fight and win the Global War on Violent Islamic Jihadists, and will send it back to Congress to be reworked.
Conaway went on to say, “There have been severe natural disasters that have impacted farmers and ranchers throughout the nation, and few states have been hit as hard as Texas. I, along side many of my colleagues, have long called for federal assistance to address the immediate needs of American agriculture and its producers. However, it is wrongheaded to try and use such an important issue as an incentive to abandon our troops and place them in harms way. I cannot, in good conscience, support such an attempt.”
“The war supplemental should be about our troops and efforts in the Global War on Terror only. In March of 2008, we cannot ask our young sergeants and lieutenants to send our troops on missions with an approaching deadline. How can we ask our troops to go forward when they know that in two or three weeks they can go home safely without finishing the mission? We can’t. We can’t ask people to put their lives on the line for this fight and set a timetable that is unrealistic and unworkable. This bill is Washington hypocrisy at its best, and I do not support it.”
