Abercrombie Votes 'No' on Funding Iraq War

Press Release

U.S. Representative Neil Abercrombie today voted against President Bush's demand for $162.5 billion to fund the war in Iraq.

"George W. Bush's war in Iraq has put the U.S. economy in a deep ditch, poisoned our relations with much of the world, left us with a broken military that will take many years and billions of dollars to rebuild, cost more than 4,000 American lives and made a shambles of the lives of countless thousands of others who have served," said Abercrombie, who chairs the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces. "Trusting this President and his Administration with another blank check for Iraq borders on criminal negligence."

"Funding for the war should be part of the appropriations process rather than through these emergency supplemental budgets. We know these costs are coming and need to take a responsible approach by paying for the war now, rather than borrowing the money and leaving the cost of this war to the next generation."

Abercrombie voted on the latest Supplemental Appropriation Bill, which included war funding for Iraq, but in separate sections, imposed troop withdrawal timelines and created a new Education GI Bill. The veterans' benefits measure is patterned after the Post WWII and Vietnam era GI Bills, which enabled millions of military veterans to achieve a college education, and has been expanded to include members of the reserves and National Guard, based on their active duty service.

"I co-sponsored the legislation creating the GI Bill as a good way to put our money where our mouth is. It's a down payment on the debt we owe the men and women we've sent to war," Abercrombie said.

Another section of the bill sets conditions on the use of U.S. troops in Iraq. Those conditions would:

- Allow appropriated funds to be used to plan for the redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq.

- Require that redeployment begin within 30 days of enactment with a goal of completion
within 18 months.

- Prohibit the deployment to Iraq of any unit that is not "fully mission capable" consistent with
existing Department of Defense policy.

- Prohibit extending the deployment in Iraq of U.S. forces beyond deployment time periods
established in Department of Defense policy.

- Prohibits the deployment to Iraq of U.S. forces that have not spent sufficient time between
deployments at home station.

- Prohibit the use of interrogation techniques not authorized in the Army Field Manual.

- Prohibit establishing permanent bases in Iraq.

- Prohibit any agreement with the Government of Iraq committing the United States to deploy
its forces in defense of Iraq or concerning the number or mission of U.S. forces in Iraq that is
not subject to Senate ratification or otherwise specifically authorized by Congress.

- Prohibit any agreement with the Government of Iraq that would subject U.S. military
personnel to the jurisdiction of Iraqi criminal courts or punishment under Iraqi law.

- Require that assistance to Iraq be provided in the form of a dollar-for-dollar match with the
Iraqis. This is the functional equivalent of a 50% loan for Iraq reconstruction funding and
ensures that the Iraqis provide funding up front.

- Require that the President complete an agreement with Iraq so that United States Armed
Forces operating in Iraq pay no more for fuel than the discounted price at which the
Government of Iraq is providing fuel for domestic Iraqi consumption.

- Extend the statute of limitations on criminal and civil statutes in cases involving fraud during
wartime including in Iraq and Afghanistan from three years to five years.

- Amend the federal criminal code to prohibit profiteering and fraud involving a contract or the
provision of goods or services in connection with a mission of the U.S. Government overseas.
(This provision is identical to Abercrombie's H.R. 400 which passed the House last year
375-3.)

- Expand the jurisdiction of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act -- which only extends
U.S. federal criminal jurisdiction to felony crimes committed overseas by contractors working
for the Department of Defense -- to include contractors working for any U.S. government
agency.

The measure now goes to the Senate for consideration without war funding included. The funding failed to pass on a vote of 141-149-132. (The number of members voting "present" was 132).

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