FEINGOLD RESPONDS TO McCONNELL’S DISTORTION
OF FEINGOLD-REID
October 4, 2007
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.
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