Cornyn: Partisan Games Coming At Expense Of Armor For Troops
Press Release
Cornyn: Partisan Games Coming At Expense Of Armor For Troops
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, made the following statement Wednesday regarding a Democratic proposal to cut off funding for our troops serving in Iraq and set a surrender date certain for their withdrawal. This amendment, which was overwhelmingly rejected by a bipartisan majority in the Senate this morning, came on the 100th day since the President sent Congress a request for supplemental funding necessary for our troops. Despite having more than three months to pass this funding, the Democrat majority has failed to provide the troops the resources they need:
"Despite repeated attempts, it is clear that the Senate Democrat leadership does not have the support in Congress to cut off funding for our troops or to advertise a surrender date to our terrorist enemies. Yet, they continue to play these partisan, political games. While this may earn the Democrats points with their far left political base, it is coming at the expense of funding that our troops need now for body armor and equipment."
"The time for political gamesmanship is over. The Secretary of Defense has made clear that this funding delay is hurting our men and women serving on the front lines. It is time for Senate Democrats to do the right thing and work with Republicans to move forward without delay so that our troops have the funding and resources that they need."
According to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, "the funding delay negatively impacts our forces in the field by needlessly delaying the accelerated fielding of new force protection capabilities such as the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle and counter-IED technologies developed and acquired by the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO). Finally, the ongoing delay resulted in the depletion of funds necessary to accelerate the training of Iraqi security forces." [Defense Secretary Robert Gates Letter to Senator John McCain, May 9, 2007]
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