Capito Says Bill Should Fund Troops, Not Bail Out Foreign Govts

Statement

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., took issue Tuesday with the final version of the War Supplemental Conference Report, legislation before the House that would fund ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Capito said the finalized bill falls far short of the bill she supported in the House last month.

"Our troops have earned a clean funding bill, not one that's weighed down by misplaced priorities like billions in taxpayer dollars to help bail out foreign governments," said Capito. "We have enough on our plate at home than to be shifting resources away from funding our troops so we can back $108 billion in loans for foreign governments like Iran or Venezuela."

"The bill we considered a month ago earned my support, but this one cannot. Our troops deserve better."

Capito, who supported an earlier - more streamlined - version of the supplemental funding bill, also criticized cuts to key programs for equipment and healthcare from the amounts approved in the previous version of the legislation.

"I don't understand why we're considering a bill that cuts $73 million for traumatic brain injury research and leaves our military with fewer resources to acquire vehicles designed specifically for our troops in Afghanistan," she said. "This bill should be about funding our troops, not about loading it up with extraneous programs that serve other purposes."

The bill considered today amounts to a 22% reduction from last year's funding levels, but amounts to an enormous 66% increase in foreign aid.

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