House Democratic Leaders on the President's Veto
I regret that the President vetoed this bill -- thereby defying the will of the American people and bipartisan majorities in Congress. This carefully crafted bipartisan legislation fully funded our troops -- in fact, providing more funding for the war on terror than the President requested -- and held the Iraqis accountable for the first time in four years. Furthermore, it provided for a responsible redeployment of American forces from Iraq -- a provision supported by nearly two-thirds of Americans.On this fourth anniversary of the President's 'Mission Accomplished' statement, it is clear the President was engaging -- tragically -- in wishful thinking. More than 3,300 Americans have been killed in Iraq, 25,000 have been injured, and more than $400 billion has been spent.
Meanwhile, we are not we are not making the progress in Iraq that this Administration has promised. Just this week, for example, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction concluded that 'the U.S. project to rebuild Iraq remains far short of its targets, leaving the country plagued by power outages, inadequate oil production and shortages of clean water and health care.'
The President must understand that this new Congress will not rubber-stamp the same failing stay-the-course policy that has put our troops and our nation in the position we are in today. We are pursuing a change of direction and a policy that is designed to succeed, not more of the same. In the days ahead, we will work with the President and Republicans in Congress to forge a new direction in Iraq.
Majority Whip James E. Clyburn:
Today marks the four-year anniversary of the president's 'Mission Accomplished' speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.We also mark another solemn milestone today--the deadliest six-month period since the war began.
Yet tonight the President vetoed legislation that would end an open-ended commitment for this war, holds the Iraqi government accountable and provide the administration with the exit strategy it lacks. Furthermore, the Iraq Accountability Act provides funding for our troops beyond the president's request, honors the promises to our veterans and creates a new direction in Iraq. The President had an opportunity to chart a new course in Iraq, and I am disappointed that he rejected that option.
The Democrats in Congress will once again invite the president to discuss a compromise on this emergency spending bill. We hope for a constructive conversation with the president tomorrow.
Rep. Dave Obey (D-WI), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee:
The President's statement that the supplemental bill is filled with unnecessary spending is nonsense. I don't think the American people would agree that $1.8 billion for Veterans healthcare, $3.3 billion for defense health programs, $2.25 billion for homeland security, $6.9 billion for Katrina recovery, $663 million to protect the country from the ravages of a world flu pandemic or $650 million to prevent kids from losing health insurance is unnecessary.The President's charge is a desperate distraction from the fact that his feet are planted firmly in cement defending a policy in Iraq that has been a failure from the start.
The bill provided him with the beginnings of an exit strategy from our involvement in Iraq's civil war. It's too bad he didn't take advantage of it, just as he ignored the Iraq Study Group's proposal to take us in a new direction.