Barbara Lee’s Statement on Iraq Occupation Funding & Upcoming Vote in Congress
(Washington, DC) – With Congress getting closer to the expected vote on the FY08 omnibus package, which may include funding to continue the occupation of Iraq, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (Oakland, CA) issued the following statement:
"Congress should not approve another dime for any measure for continuing the occupation of Iraq that does not include a clear timeline for safe and timely redeployment. We have the power to end the occupation of Iraq.
"As we get set to vote on the expected FY08 omnibus bill, we can not lower the bar on the Bush administration and substitute weak benchmarks in place of the only benchmark that matters to the American people: namely, protecting our troops on the ground and bringing them home as safely and as soon as possible.
"Experts concur that there is no military solution to the problems in Iraq. It is President Bush and the Republicans who need to change their strategy."
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Congresswoman Barbara Lee (Oakland-D) is co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and co-founder of the Out of Iraq Caucus. In October, she led a group of 89 House members in writing to the President to state their commitment to only providing funding for the redeployment of troops from IRAQ.