Westmoreland Votes No on 'Slow Bleed'
Press Release
Westmoreland votes no on slow bleed'
U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland voted against the Democrats' "slow-bleed" war supplemental - which passed 218-212 with one member voting present -- in the House today, saying it assures defeat by mandating the withdrawal of American troops.
"Today's vote is the most important we'll take all year as members of Congress and today's vote marks the pinnacle of the Smoke and Mirrors Congress," Westmoreland said. "The Democrats' Iraq spending bill assures that we'll leave Iraq as a failed state and a haven for terrorists. It usurps the powers reserved for the commander-in-chief, and it undercuts the ability of our new commander, Gen. David Petraeus, to see his troop-increase plan through to a successful completion. A vast number of the U.S. troops serving in Iraq were trained in my district at Fort Benning. A vote for this bill is a vote to say that training wasn't up to snuff. That's an insult to the great work and great patriots at Fort Benning.
"Votes on matters of war and peace should weigh heavily on the conscience of each member of this House. It's beyond unfortunate that we weren't given the chance to vote purely on the merits of the Democrats' plan for defeat. Instead, what we got was a war spending bill greased with pork, buying votes with $20 billion in giveaways to special interests from home-heating assistance to $213 million for peanuts, shrimp and spinach to upgrades to the Capitol power plant.
"Our troops and commanders in the field deserve better. The Iraqi people who've entrusted us to help them stabilize their country and build a democracy deserve better, and the people who sent us here to Congress to defend the safety of our nation deserve better.
"I'm hopeful that we'll be able to loosen these defeatist policies in the Senate and then vote on a more reasonable bill in the future that will give us a fighting chance for victory in Iraq. If this bill does move forward, I will vote to sustain the president's veto."
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