Will Congressman Price vote for more war funding today?!

North Carolina has offered county commissioners 2 choices in raising taxes: land transfer tax or sales tax. These taxes are, in part, needed as counties and municipalities are struggling to fill in growing gaps that are left after the funding cuts in social services that the Federal government has made as it diverts, the already diminished (due to tax cuts), federal tax revenue -- which is wasted on war.

The House of Representatives will vote as soon as today -- Thursday, May 8 -- on an additional $162.6 billion for the war and occupation in Iraq!

Amazingly, the bill includes $66 billion for fiscal year 2009. This means the funds for the occupation will keep flowing well into the next administration, allowing the new president a free hand to continue the war and occupation with little or no accountability to Congress until next spring. This is an appalling abdication of responsibility.

At a time when money is urgently needed in our communities, the new bill would bring the total for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to an unimaginable $874 billion. By including FY09 funding, the Democratic Party House leadership is effectively taking the war off the congressional agenda for the rest of this year. This might be our last opportunity to fight a war funding bill before the next president takes office and the new Congress is seated.
 

On April 25, Representative David Price was forwarded the most recent Orange County Democrat resolution requesting that he not vote for more funding of the war (as of yesterday, there has been no response from Congressman Price):

Withhold Further Funding of the War In Iraq

WHEREAS it has now been shown that the President of the United States made his case to the Congress and the American People for the war in Iraq based upon apparently deliberate misinterpretation of intelligence as to the intention and actions of the Iraq government toward the United States;

WHEREAS an overwhelming majority of American troops serving in Iraq think the U.S. should exit the country within the next year, and more than one in four say the troops should leave immediately;

WHEREAS an overwhelming majority of Iraqis would like U.S. forces to exit the country within a year;

WHEREAS Iraqis of all sectarian and ethnic groups believe that the U.S. military invasion is the primary root of the violent differences among them, and see the departure of "occupying forces" as the key to national reconciliation.

WHEREAS the “Declaration of Principles” issued by the United States and the US-backed, US-installed Iraqi government, a government under military occupation, envisions U.S. forces to remain indefinitely in Iraq in order to “deter foreign aggression and also to facilitate and encourage the flow of foreign investments [to] Iraq, especially American investments.”

WHEREAS the American public generally agrees that the Democrats success in the 2006 mid-term elections was effectively a referendum on the War;

WHEREAS the Democratic Party, in its deep gratitude and unalterable support for the dedication and bravery of our service men and women and their families, cannot stand by while more of our service men or women are killed or maimed by prolonging the senseless policy of the Bush Administration.

WHEREAS the Democratic party cannot condone the killing of another million lives in Iraq.

WHEREAS Representative David Price is a ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee;

WHEREAS the only power Congress has to represent effectively the will of the people to pull out of Iraq by the end of the year is through the withholding or limiting the funds that make the war possible and the prohibition of funding for existing or prospective deployments;

WHEREAS 70 percent of Americans want Congress either to vote against Iraq war funding requests or to require that funds only be used to protect troops and bring them home.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Orange County Democratic Party join with other NC 4th Congressional District County and/or Precinct Democratic Parties in making a formal public requests to Representative David Price, and all members of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate to:

1. support the insertion of the following provisions in all appropriations bills that fund directly or indirectly the war In Iraq:

None of the Funds herein appropriated under this act may be expended to support directly or indirectly combat activities, in or over Iraq by United States forces or contractors.

Nothing in this provision shall be interpreted to limit the expenditure of the funds necessary for withdrawal of American forces, material, and equipment, and its contractors, for the protection of troops and extraction activities in withdrawal, or for the necessary and proper medical assistance for all personnel, both during withdrawal or there after.

2. sign the Congressional Progressive Caucus’s letter to commit supporting only funding for the occupation of Iraq that protects and safely redeploys all troops out of Iraq before president Bush leaves office. Also, co-sponsor H.R. 5507 Fully Funded United States Military Redeployment And Iraqi Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2008 introduced by Congress Members Lee, Woolsey, and Waters.

3. urge House leadership not to bring up any more bills to fund the occupation of Iraq, vote No on any bill that funds the occupation of Iraq, and Vote ‘No’ on any procedural vote to bring funding of the occupation of Iraq up for a vote

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the North Carolina General Assembly is hereby urged to pass a resolution asking the North Carolina Congressional delegation to oppose any further funding of the Iraq war.

It is urgent to let Congressman Price know of your opposition to further funding of the Iraq war, call TODAY!, Congressman Price’s DC office at 202.225.1784 or his Chapel Hill office at 919.967.7924. To send an email to Congressman Price, go to: http://price.house.gov/contact/contact_form.shtml.

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