LET'S TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES, FOR A CHANGE
January 8, 2010
Washington, DC
During our successful campaign for Congress, many people told me that we simply can no longer afford the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. America can no longer afford to spend billions, and countless young lives, guaranteeing the wellbeing of the Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds, when millions of people here have lost their jobs, lost their homes, and can’t see a doctor when they are ill. We need to take care of ourselves, for a change.
Facing the fourth largest army in the world, our brave soldiers occupied all of Iraq in three weeks. It should not take more than eight years to get out.
Ecclesiastes 3:8 says that there is “a time for war, and a time for peace.” This is a time for peace. We need peace.
I also know better than most the massive degree of waste and fraud with our war spending. I personally argued the only successful trial against Iraq war profiteers. When I was elected to Congress, I was the prosecuting attorney in every single case of Iraq contractor fraud being litigated in federal court. We cannot keep making money available to companies whose owners and executives line their own pockets, at the expense of our fighting men and women. I say to military contractors, “No more poisoned water for our troops. No more electrocution in their showers.”
This is beyond politics. Morally, I cannot support any war that is wrong, wasteful, and detrimental to America’s well-being at home and abroad. The war does not make us safer. Therefore, I cannot support additional funding for such a war.
I was one of only 32 Democrats to vote against the recent $100 billion request for more funding for the war. That’s $100 billion for war, when our schools are closing, police officers and firefighters are losing their jobs, and thousands of people are losing their homes. My vote shows that I am no rubber stamp for President Obama. I joined 97% of the Republican members of the House of Representatives to vote against this bill.
When voters told me that these wars are destroying our economy, I said that I agreed with them. I said that I would not vote for endless war. And then I voted against endless war. I did what I said I would do. That’s how I define the word “integrity.”
Needless to say, I support our troops. They have done a great job, and I demonstrated my support for them when I voted for the FY 2010 budget. The budget also honors our veterans by providing an 11.5 percent increase for veterans’ health care and other services. It provides veterans more access to VA health care, and boosts funding for critical services like the research and treatment of mental health illnesses, post-traumatic stress disorder, and traumatic brain injuries. Fifteen percent of all troops returning from Iraq come home with permanent brain abnormalities; our budget does a lot to help them.
I also recognize the great value in some other measures included in the spending bill. Our troops do deserve to be compensated for the extra time that they have been required to serve. The funding for swine flu has merit. Our firefighter heroes need to be kept on the job. I support funding stop–loss payments, swine flu vaccines, and funding for firefighters, but I believe they should be separate from $100 billion for more war. If they come up independently, I will vote in favor of them. But we need to bring our young men and women home. It’s time for peace.
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