As I have said before, nowhere was the American public’s call for a New Direction clearer than in the war in Iraq. Just last December, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group report concluded, as I have said from the outset, that President Bush’s Iraq policy ‘is grave,’ and that it is in desperate need of change. I have been stridently opposed to the Iraq war from the outset and voted against the War Resolution, House Joint Resolution 114, which ‘authorized the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq,’ when it came before the House of Representatives four and a half years ago, on October 8th, 2002. I have argued from the beginning of this conflict that the President intentionally misled the American public by supplying them with spurious grounds for going to war. Therefore, I strongly support H.R. 1591, ‘The U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act of 2007.’

Not only does the bill place a long overdue deadline on troop removal from Iraq, it also appropriates an additional $124 billion for our troops. Moreover, as the second most senior Democrat on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and the only CBC member on the Committee, I strongly support the provisions that benefit our veterans in this bill, which ensures that U.S. forces in the field have all of the resources they require. In H.R. 1591, there is a total appropriation of $1.7 billion above the President’s request for initiatives to address the health care needs of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and the backlog in maintaining VA health care facilities. It also includes:

$550 million to address the backlog in maintaining VA health care facilities – intended to prevent the VA from experiencing a situation similar to that found at Walter Reed;
$250 million for medical administration to ensure there are sufficient personnel to support the growing number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and to maintain a high level of services for all veterans; $229 million for treating the growing number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans; $100 million for contract mental health care – with this funding allowing the VA to contract with private mental health care providers to ensure that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are seen in the most timely and least disruptive fashion, including members of the Guard and Reserve; $62 million to speed up the processing of claims of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

There is also $20 million for Walter Reed. I just visited Walter Reed Hospital, and have spoken to the soldiers there, and will be going back to follow up with them. To allow just one soldier to live in conditions we would not allow our pets to live in is simply unconscionable. I am also pleased to announce an additional $450 million for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Counseling, $450 million for Traumatic Brain Injury care and research, $730 million to prevent health care fee increases for our troops and $14.8 million for burn care.

Additionally, as a Member of the Congressional Black Caucus, I wholeheartedly support provisions in this bill which direct money towards the following items which benefit African American communities throughout the nation. These items include:

$25 million for Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loans; $80 million for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) tenant-based rental assistance; and a $400 million addition to the low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). It also adds $40 million in security assistance for Liberia; $1 billion to purchase vaccines needed to protect Americans from a flu global pandemic; and an additional $750 to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), to ensure continued healthcare coverage for children in 14 states that face a budget shortfall in the program.