Barbara Lee Host Town Hall on 5th Anniv of U.S. Occupation in Iraq
Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contac
Renews Call for Troop Redeployment
(Washington, DC) – As the nation enters the sixth year of the U.S. occupation in Iraq, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-9) hosted a special Town Hall in Oakland on Saturday to address Bush’s misguided foreign policy in Iraq and renew the call to end the occupation. The following are excerpts from her speech:
Legislative Action to End Occupation
"Way back in October 2002 you stood with me in support of my amendment that would have renewed inspections and prevented this obscene war in the first place."
"Over the past 5 years you have been there every step of the way supporting my efforts in Congress to repeal the authorization of military force, to repeal the doctrine of preemption, to bring our troops home, to prohibit permanent military bases in Iraq, to prevent a war with Iran…"
End Occupation & Offset Iraq Recession
"To highlight the toll of the "Iraq recession" I recently introduced legislation (H.Res.1019) detailing its economic impact and calling upon Congress redeploy our troops and military contractors so we can redirect the over $12 billion we waste each month in Iraq and invest it vital domestic priorities."
"The Progressive Caucus budget was the only budget considered that would redeploy our troops from Iraq within a year and restore common sense to our military spending by cutting out some of the waste, fraud and abuse at the Pentagon and eliminating spending for many cold war weapons that do nothing to keep our nation more secure."
End Occupation & Enforce Policy Against Permanent Military Bases
"On six occasions President Bush has signed into law legislation that I sponsored that prohibits permanent or long-term military bases in Iraq."
"But when President Bush signed the last Defense Authorization Act, he issued a so-called "signing statement" reserving for himself the right not to comply with the policy against permanent military bases in Iraq."
"So if the President Bush doesn’t think he is bound by the law prohibiting military bases in Iraq, here is my answer: We will see you in court!"
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Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-9) is Co-founder of the Out of Iraq Caucus, Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and sits on the House Appropriations Committee, where she serves on the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Subcommittee, the State Foreign Operations Subcommittee and is Vice-Chair of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee.
: : : t: Cleve Mesidor, (202) 225-2661 : March 15, 2008