Historic Day
May 15, 2008 was a historic day, because the House of Representatives voted to bring a haul to Bush’s Iraq War Policy. The House used its appropriations power to limit Bush’s unrestrained war policies, set a time limit for troop withdrawal and expanded the GI Bill, by asking rich people to pay an addition half a percent more on their taxes.
The House Democratic leadership set boundaries on the use of our tax dollars by dividing the legislation into three parts, which resulted in the rejection of a $168 billion in funding to continue the war in Iraq
Amendment 1. Provided funds to continue the war until a new President could set new policies for troop withdrawal. Supporters of the war, which include most Republicans, were expected to support that legislation. Instead 132 Republicans refused to vote either for or against war funding, and voted “Present.”
Amendment 2. Established significant ground rules limiting the President’s authority to wage an unrestrained war. It establishes four significant policies sharply drawing the line with Bush policies:
A. It mandated withdrawal of troops from Iraq starting 30 days after enactment and to be completed within 18 months. This policy establishes a framework for a supportive President to begin a process of orderly troop withdrawal that protects our troops during the withdrawal phase.
B. It rotates the troops by requiring sufficient rest periods of more than a year between the time they are stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan before they resume combat duty. This policy responds to the many examples of men and women having multiple times of service in combat zones with hardly any real time at home.
C. It sets specific policies barring President Bush from unilaterally binding the next Administration in committing troops to Iraq.
D. It makes the prohibition on torture by US personnel crystal clear.
Amendment 3. Recognizes the service of our women and men in Afghanistan and Iraq by expanding veteran’s education for 10 years at an investment of $52 billion dollars. It extends the benefit for those serving in the National Guard who presently do not receive GI Education benefits. The GI Bill gets paid for by requiring approximately 500,000 taxpayers to have a surtax of 0.5% of couples earning more than $1,000,000 or individuals earning more than $500,000. That small increase will bring in the money to pay for the added costs of educating our veterans.
The House Democratic leadership set boundaries on the use of our tax dollars by dividing the legislation into three parts, which resulted in the rejection of a $168 billion in funding to continue the war in Iraq
Amendment 1. Provided funds to continue the war until a new President could set new policies for troop withdrawal. Supporters of the war, which include most Republicans, were expected to support that legislation. Instead 132 Republicans refused to vote either for or against war funding, and voted “Present.”
Amendment 2. Established significant ground rules limiting the President’s authority to wage an unrestrained war. It establishes four significant policies sharply drawing the line with Bush policies:
A. It mandated withdrawal of troops from Iraq starting 30 days after enactment and to be completed within 18 months. This policy establishes a framework for a supportive President to begin a process of orderly troop withdrawal that protects our troops during the withdrawal phase.
B. It rotates the troops by requiring sufficient rest periods of more than a year between the time they are stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan before they resume combat duty. This policy responds to the many examples of men and women having multiple times of service in combat zones with hardly any real time at home.
C. It sets specific policies barring President Bush from unilaterally binding the next Administration in committing troops to Iraq.
D. It makes the prohibition on torture by US personnel crystal clear.
Amendment 3. Recognizes the service of our women and men in Afghanistan and Iraq by expanding veteran’s education for 10 years at an investment of $52 billion dollars. It extends the benefit for those serving in the National Guard who presently do not receive GI Education benefits. The GI Bill gets paid for by requiring approximately 500,000 taxpayers to have a surtax of 0.5% of couples earning more than $1,000,000 or individuals earning more than $500,000. That small increase will bring in the money to pay for the added costs of educating our veterans.
posted by Jim O'Leary | 12:01 AM
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