Washington DC – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold responded today to remarks made this morning by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell regarding the Feingold-Reid legislation, which would safely redeploy U.S. troops from Iraq, after which funding for the open-ended military mission would end.

“It’s unfortunate that the Senate Minority Leader is intentionally distorting what the Feingold-Reid legislation actually does. Our bill would remove our troops safely from the middle of the Iraqi civil war and then, once they are redeployed, end funding for the President’s disastrous Iraq policy. When a military operation is not serving our national security, does not have the support of the American people and does not make sense, Congress has the responsibility to end it. Seventy-six senators, including Senator McConnell, supported such a move in 1993 when the Senate voted to end funding for the military operation in Somalia by a date certain. That vote didn’t cut funding for the troops, and neither does a vote for the Feingold-Reid bill, which is the surest way to quickly and safely get our troops out of Iraq.”

 

Fact Sheet on Feingold-Reid
A Bill to End the Open-Ended Military Mission in Iraq

The Feingold-Reid legislation requires the safe redeployment of U.S. troops by June 30, 2008, after which funding for open-ended military mission in Iraq would end.

Congress Has Ended Funding for Military Missions Before: The Somalia Example

In October 1993, 76 senators voted for an amendment, offered by Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, to end funding for the military mission in Somalia effective March 31, 1994, with limited exceptions. That amendment was signed into law and was supported by some currently serving senators of both parties who voted against Feingold-Reid including Republican Senators McConnell, Bond, Cochran, Domenici, Hatch, Hutchison, Lugar, Specter, Shelby, and Warner and Democratic Senators Baucus, Bingaman, Conrad, Dorgan, Levin, and Mikulski and Independent Senator Joe Lieberman.

What the Feingold-Reid Bill Does

The bill uses Congress’ constitutional “power of the purse” to force the president to safely redeploy troops from Iraq by June 30, 2008. After the troops are safely redeployed, the president can only spend money in Iraq for three specific and limited purposes:

• to conduct targeted counterterrorism operations against al Qaeda and affiliated international terrorist organizations
• to protect U.S. personnel and infrastructure
• to provide limited training of Iraqi security forces

Experts Debunk War Funding Myth

Former Solicitor General Walter Dellinger, who testified before Congress about this approach to ending the war, stated, “There would not be one penny less for benefits of the troops” and “there would not be one penny less for supplies or support.” The troops would continue to receive necessary training and equipment before, during, and after their redeployment.

As this testimony makes clear, claims that ending funding for the war would cut off resources for the troops and leave them stranded on the battlefield are simply false. The safety of our servicemen and women in Iraq is paramount, and Feingold-Reid focuses on just that – the safe redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq.