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IraqMurray's WorkOn October 9, 2002, after several weeks of careful consideration, Senator
Murray delivered a lengthy address on the Senate floor, outlining her
opposition to S.J.Res.46, a resolution authorizing the President to
take unilateral action against Iraq, because it effectively ended Congress’
role in the process.
Full remarks | Although, Senator Murray was opposed to the resolution, she has supported our U.S. troops throughout, and worked hard to make sure our commitment to our troops and their families is as great as their commitment to our country. In fact, during the creation of the Senate Budget Resolution in February and March 2003, Murray used her position on the Senate Budget Committee to urge her colleagues to set aside funding for possible military action in Iraq, so that our soldiers would have the resources they needed if they were called to fight. Murray also supported our U.S. troops by:
Senator Murray will continue working to ensure that our troops, who continue to be under attack everyday, have the resources and equipment necessary to protect themselves and complete their mission successfully. Murray will also keep pressing the Administration to come up with a plan to bring our troops home as soon as possible. .......................................................... National Guard and Reserves Currently, 192,500 Guard and Reserve members Hundreds of Washington state Reservists have also been activated and one hundred and fifty local Marine Corps Reservists will soon be deployed to Iraq as part of the Yakima-based Bravo Company, 4th Tank Battalion. On January 24, 2005, Senator Murray reintroduced legislation to increase services and benefits to members of the National Guard and Reserves when they are called to active duty. Murray originally introduced the Guard and Reserve Enhanced Benefits Act (S.2068) last year to expand health care, education, financial benefits and family assistance to help ease the burden on Guard members and their families. While several pieces of Murray’s original legislation were passed as separate amendments by the full Senate last year, they were blocked by the Republican majority in the House of Representatives and not signed into law. The reintroduction of Murray’s legislation coincides with her co-sponsorship of two new Democratic bills. As a member of the Democratic leadership, Murray helped to develop both S.11 - to increase protections for our troops and Reserve members - and S. 13 to fulfill our health and benefits promises to America’s veterans. ......................................... Murray's Work in the 108th Congress On January 9, 2004, Senator Murray met with the Washington National Guard soldiers preparing to deploy to Iraq, their families and families of soldiers already serving in Iraq. One month after speaking with the troops and their families and listening to their concerns, Murray introduced legislation that would increase services and benefits to members of the National Guard and Reserves, and their families, when they are called to service. The Guard and Reserve Enhanced Benefits Act of 2004 (S 2068), would provide expanded health care, family assistance, education, and financial benefits to help ease the burden on these soldiers and their families. On June 17, 2004, the Senate agreed to Murray's amendment to the Senate Defense Authorization Bill. This amendment (SA 3427) provides needed relief and aid to National Guard and Reservists and their families. It directs the Secretary of Defense to make child care services available to activated soldiers and their families not living near major military installations. Senator Murray's amendment, which was supported by the Department of
Defense, also applies to full-time This amendment was one of many efforts Murray made to pass provisions included in her Guard and Reserve Enhanced Benefits Act. In recent months, the Senate has passed several pieces of Murray's bill to provide these families with the help they need, including:
Although several pieces of Murray’s legislation were passed as separate amendments by the full Senate, they were blocked by the Republican majority in the House of Representatives and not signed into law. .......................................................... POWsAmerican prisoners of war have been tortured in war and after war, including World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and through the more recent Gulf Wars. Senator Murray has worked hard to take care of these heroic veterans when they return home and to protect these troops in danger of being taken prisoner. In 2003 Senator Murray introduced the Francis W. Agnes Ex-Prisoner of War Benefits Act of 2003 (S.517) to help former prisoners of war. Key parts of the act were included in the Veterans Benefits Act, which passed the Senate on November 19th and was signed into law in December 2003. During the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq under Saddam Hussein brutally tortured 17 American POWs – including two from Washington state – with savage beatings, starvation, electric shocks, whippings, burnings, drug injection, mock executions, threatened dismemberments, broken bones, shattered eardrums, deprivation of medical care, and confinement in filthy solitary cells without facilities. Because no contact with families was permitted, many of their loved ones did not know whether the POWs were alive or dead. Using legislation passed by the Congress in 1996, the POWs filed suit against Saddam Hussein in April 2002 to hold his regime accountable, and to deter the torture of American servicemen and women in the future. On July 7, 2003, a federal judge ruled in favor of the POWs, awarding them $959 million in compensation from “frozen” Iraqi assets. The ruling cited Iraq’s “unrestrained savagery” against our “handcuffed and blindfolded POWs,” concluding, “POWs are uniquely disadvantaged and deterring torture of POWs should be of the highest priority.” Unfortunately, on June 4, 2004, the U.S. Department of Justice was recently successful in reversing the decision. Due to pressure from the Bush Administration, these POWs were left without compensation for the horrors they endured during the Gulf War. Today our troops abroad are more vulnerable to mistreatment if they are captured. Senator Murray believes that Americans must never again accept torture
as part of warfare and we must act now to protect our sons and daughters
who defend us today, and in the future. For this reason the treatment
of war prisoners in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison was particularly
troubling. Senator Murray will do everything she can to protect the lives of our soldiers in Iraq and provide compensation to those who were taken prisoner while honorably serving their country. She cosponsored an amendment to S. 2400, the Senate Defense Authorization bill, which requires the Department of Defense to include compensation for the 17 Gulf War POW’s in its plan for providing compensation to Iraqi prisoners who were tortured in the Abu Ghraib prisons. Murray also filed a brief with the Washington Legal Foundation in support of the former POWs from the 1991 Gulf War who were tortured in Iraq. In 2003, the American Ex-Prisoners of War awarded Senator Murray with the organization's highest legislative award, the Annual Barbed Wire Award. .......................................................... Support Our Troops Here are other ways to show your support: "Adopt" - The Washington National Guard Family Program lets people and organizations “Adopt” A Military Family. Visit online or call (253) 512-7534 or 1-800-364-7492. Send a greeting via e-mail through Operation
Dear Abby. .......................................................... Helping Kids Cope
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Many
people are asking how they can show their support for our service members.
In the past, it was easy to send a letter or care package to “Any
Service Member.” Because of security and transportation concerns,
however, the Pentagon has suspended delivery of letters or care packages
addressed to “Any Service Member.”