Iraq – Afghan war supplemental
Update (June 11): It’s not over. Contact Reps. Michaud and Pingree with your views on the war supplemental.
Update (May 14): Reps. Michaud AND Pingree vote against the war supplemental.
Mike Michaud: “It would be disingenuous of me to support this funding just because the President happens to now be a member of my own political party.”
Chelli Pingree: “Without a clear strategy for bringing our servicemen and servicewomen home, I could not vote for this request for additional war funding.”
More HERE.
This item is cross-posted at Maine Owl.
Didn’t Speaker Pelosi last June promise against more blank checks for war?
Bruce Gagnon wrote on Thursday:
Pingree-Michaud to Vote on War Supplemental Next WeekDear Fellow Mainers:
Today I had a long talk with Rep. Chellie Pingree’s Military Legislative Assistant, Eric Hansen, over the phone. He is based in the DC office. I called to ask him the status of the Iraq-Afghanistan-Pakistan war supplemental bill for the remainder of 2009.
Hansen told me the bill is in the House Appropriations Committee today and that it would likely be voted on in the House of Representatives as early as next week.
President Obama had requested $83 billion for the war supplemental but House Democrats have added $9.3 billion to that request to bring the supplemental to now stand at $94.2 billion.
I asked Hansen how Rep. Pingree would vote on the supplemental and he said that she wants to first “see what form the bill takes” before deciding on her vote. He told me that the Congresswoman was wanting to see if bench marks and timelines were included in the bill. So far Obama has not submitted any timelines on ending the Afghanistan occupation.
Hansen said that the war supplemental will also include funds for economic assistance to the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan. He talked about “soft power” options being important like moving some Pakistan funds from the Pentagon to the State Department’s control for diplomatic purposes and for expansion of counter-insurgency capabilities.
Hansen also said that Rep. Pingree was seriously considering signing on as a co-sponsor to a bill presented by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) that would “require the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to Congress outlining the United States exit strategy for United States military forces in Afghanistan participating in Operation Enduring Freedom.”
As of today the cost of the war in Afghanistan to American taxpayers has been more than $172 billion and the Iraq war has cost more than $656 billion.
As of this writing we have not heard anything definitive from the offices of Rep. Mike Michaud on his position on this 2009 war supplemental. It is important to remember that Obama has also already requested $130 billion for war funding for fiscal year 2010.
Please make a call immediately to your member of the Maine Congressional delegation. Urge them to vote against any more war funding.
Bruce K. Gagnon
Coordinator, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
(Blog)
Do Chelli Pingree, or Mike Michaud for that matter, really have anti-war positions? Maybe. According to Bruce, there is some ambiguity.
At another moment of concern after her trip last February, when quotes in a news story were seemingly at odds with Rep. Pingree’s campaign promise that “Congress must stop funding the war,” I ASKED that question. I was at least a little happy with her answers. But now will be a another moment of truth. Will Reps. Pingree and Michaud be able to stand up to Administration and Pentagon pressure?
Thanks for this information, Bruce. The key anti-war constituencies that helped elect both Chelli Pingree and Mike Michaud will be watching closely and acting appropriately.
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Thursday, June 11th, 2009 at 12:00 pm under
