U.S. REP. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS' STATEMENT ON THE U.S. TROOP READINESS, VETERANS' HEALTH AND IRAQ ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

“Today I will vote to support our American men and women in uniform and to make sure they have mission-critical supplies. Over the past four years, our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have shown tremendous professionalism and dedication consistent with the highest military standards.

I supported the earlier House version of the Emergency Supplemental Spending bill that established a definite schedule for the deployment and redeployment of U.S. troops in Iraq. I believe we need substantive accountability measures and a definitive plan for ending the U.S. involvement in Iraq's civil war. It is time to focus our military might on the global effort against terrorists and terrorist organizations, in the Middle East and elsewhere, who wish to harm America. Our men and women in uniform are performing bravely and professionally but no longer have a clear combat mission. The original Senate version, unfortunately, had no firm guidelines regarding measurable progress or troop levels.

I respect America's democratic process and its spirit of compromise - our political parties and our two chambers of Congress must find common ground on many issues in order to keep our representative government in working to move the nation forward. Today's vote is a profound example of this process at work, and marks the beginnings of an exit strategy for Iraq.

The Conference Committee of House and Senate members negotiated the final version voted on today - they were able to agree on language that sets March 2008 as the goal for U.S. redeployment. The Emergency Supplemental spending bill (H.R. 1591) provides much-needed resources to the troops on the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan while also pushing the Iraqi people to take control of their nation and end the violence between the Sunnis and Shiites. I hope that the President will agree that this funding should not wait and that he will refrain from using his veto.”

Provisions of H.R. 1591 include:

• $3 billion more than the President requested for IED-resistant vehicles
• $900 million for PTSD and traumatic brain injury care and research for troops
• $661 million to prevent health care fee increases for our troops
• $595 million to address the backlog in maintaining VA health care facilities
• $100 million for mental health care for veterans
• $20 million to clean up the facilities at Walter Reed