Washington, DC - With Senate debate on Iraq stalled and the House preparing to put the President’s escalation plan to a vote, the 69 member Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), the largest block of Democratic Representatives in the House, issued a strongly worded position on Iraq today, favoring a binding vote against escalation and a plan to fully fund the withdrawal of U.S. troops.  The statement, released by CPC Co-Chairs, Representatives Lynn Woolsey and Barbara Lee, follows:

“Over the last four years, the insurgency in Iraq has strengthened and sectarian violence has increased.  Furthermore, the current situation on the ground in Iraq is grave and rapidly deteriorating. The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) has determined accordingly that a predominantly military approach is no longer a viable solution to stabilizing Iraq.

“We are committed to bringing all of the U.S. troops and military contractors in Iraq home in a six-month time frame as part of a fully-funded redeployment plan.

“More specifically, we oppose sending additional U.S. troops and military contractors to Iraq and favor binding votes to block President Bush’s escalation of U.S. military involvement in Iraq.

“We believe all appropriations for U.S. military involvement in Iraq must be for the protection of our troops until and during their withdrawal within six months of the date of enactment of this limitation and accelerating the training and equipping of additional Iraqi security forces during that six-month time frame. The President has left the Congress few alternatives other than to use the power of purse spelled out in Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution to curtail U.S. military operations in Iraq.

“Finally, we are opposed to establishing any permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq, support rescinding the President’s Iraq war authority, and support greater diplomatic and political engagement in the region, while ensuring that the Iraqi people have control over their own petroleum resources.”