The House of Representatives will vote as soon as tomorrow --
Thursday, May 8 -- on an additional $162.6 billion for the war and
occupation in Iraq!
Amazingly, the bill includes $66 billion for fiscal year 2009. This
means the funds for the occupation will keep flowing well into the next
administration, allowing the new president a free hand to continue the
war and occupation with little or no accountability to Congress until
next spring. This is an appalling abdication of responsibility.
At
a time when money is urgently needed in our communities, the new bill
would bring the total for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to an
unimaginable $874 billion. By including FY09 funding, the
Democratic Party House leadership is effectively taking the war off the
congressional agenda for the rest of this year. This might be our last
opportunity to fight a war funding bill before the next president takes
office and the new Congress is seated.
YOUR CALL TODAY IS CRUCIAL.
Call your representative NOW: 202-224-3121
Tell them to vote "No!" on this funding bill.
Tell them it's long past time to bring all the troops home and end the war. Tell them to stop playing political games while lives are being lost.
Please let us know you called by clicking here.
Don't let the House Democratic leadership take us for granted. If this
funding bill passes, Congress will have handed Bush $859 billion for
the illegal war and occupation of Iraq. With this funding bill, they
are laying the groundwork for the next president to continue the
occupation. We must send them a message: The voters will remember in
November!
Background
House leadership met behind closed doors on Monday evening to concoct a
plan that will keep the war going into the next president's first term.
They plan to bring a $162.6 billion war funding bill to the floor for a
vote on Thursday, May 8. In addition to the funding bill, they will
vote separately on two other measures. One will provide billions for
unemployment benefits and veterans education benefits; the other
measure addresses war policy, including a goal for troop withdrawal by
December 2009, troop readiness requirements, and bans on permanent
bases in Iraq and torture. It is an open secret that the Senate will
drop the measure on war policy -- leaving only the war funding with no
strings attached.
Impact of War on the Iraqi People
The U.S. war/occupation in Iraq has taken hundreds of thousands of
lives, devastated families and ripped apart the infrastructure of Iraq.
One striking fact is that more than 4.7 million Iraqis (in a nation of
27 million people) have been displaced by war and occupation. It is the
world's fastest growing refugee crisis, and represents the largest
refugee flow in the Middle East since the displacement of Palestinians
in 1948. Click here for more information.
Peace,
Leslie Cagan
National Coordinator, UFPJ | 
