Fact Sheet - Feingold-Reid
A Bill to End the Open-Ended Military
Mission in Iraq by March 31, 2008
June 25, 2007
The Feingold-Reid legislation requires
the safe redeployment of U.S. troops by March 31, 2008. The
Senate is expected to vote on Feingold-Reid during the upcoming
debate over the Department of Defense authorization bill.
More than half the Democrats in the Senate have already voted
for Feingold-Reid, during the debate over the Iraq supplemental
spending bill last month. Given that a weaker version of this
amendment got less than half as many votes a year ago, this
recent vote was a significant step toward ending the war.
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 March 31, 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 other international terrorist
organizations
- To protect U.S. personnel and infrastructure
- To train and equip Iraqi security forces
Experts Debunk War Funding Myth:
Former Solicitor General Walter Dellinger,
who recently testified before Congress about this approach
to end 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 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 is 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.
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. By ending funding for this mission,
that overwhelming majority of Senators, including the current
Republican leader and whip, required the redeployment of U.S.
troops from Somalia.
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