Thank you!
In an amazing turn of events, the House of Representatives today voted AGAINST the supplemental funding for the war in Iraq!!
The bill would have provided $166 billion in war funding, the largest
single provision since the war started in 2003. In a move that no one
expected, dozens of Republicans voted "present," which is the same as
abstaining on the vote. This meant that the 149 NO votes were enough to
defeat the bill. (141 votes were cast in favor.)
This is a tremendous victory for the antiwar movement. The hard work of
people all around the country secured those 149 clear NO votes. Click here for the roll call to see how your representative voted.
But our work is far from over.
The bill now moves to the Senate,
where we can expect an attempt to add the war funding back into the
bill. After that, the bill will go to a conference committee, then back
for a re-vote in both the House and the Senate. That means we need to
keep up the pressure on both the House and the Senate.
Here's what you can do:
Additional Information
Two other measures were passed in the House this afternoon. The first
of those had some good provisions (no permanent bases, no use of
torture), but also included a non-binding goal for the withdrawal of
U.S. troops to be completed by December 2009. This would keep our
troops in Iraq for another year and half, and this timeline is only a
goal. In other words, this doesn't even come close to our call for all
of the troops to come home now. The second measure that passed today
would increase veterans benefits and provide funding for some important
domestic needs. We expect the Senate to vote next
week. We would have predicted that they would put the war funding back
into the measure, take out the conditions they don't like (such as the
goal for withdrawal), and make changes to the domestic funding package.
Given the un-expected development in the House, all bets are off on
what the Senate will do. After the Senate acts on the package, both
chambers will negotiate and try to come up with a compromise, which
will then go before both chamber for a re-vote. | 
