The Revised Iraq Accountability Act

The revised Iraq Accountability Act (HR 2206) supports our troops and holds President Bush and the Iraqi government accountable. This bill requires the President to confront the realities of the Iraq war and take account of the facts on the ground. It fully funds the troops over the next two-three months -- ensuring that they have everything they need to conduct their mission. It appropriates $42.8 billion immediately and requires the President to report to Congress in July, guaranteeing two votes by Congress, to determine if a second installment of requested funding is released. It also includes additional funding for the troops, not requested by the President, including more for military health care, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles in Iraq, additional funding to improve military readiness and an additional $1.8 billion to meet veterans' unmet health care needs. This Congress will not provide the President the blank check that he has requested.

First, the bill requires the President to submit a report to Congress by July 13th regarding the success of the Iraqi government in meeting security and political benchmarks.

The President must report progress by the Iraqi Government in meeting key security benchmarks, articulated by Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki himself in January, including eliminating militia control of local security, disarming the militias, and giving Iraqi Security Forces the authority to pursue all extremists, including Shiite militias.

The President must also report on whether key political benchmarks, announced by President Bush himself in January, have actually been accomplished by the Iraqi government, relating to such issues as enacting a bill to equitably share oil revenue among all Iraqis, reforming current laws governing the de-Baathification process, providing for provincial elections, and amending the Constitution.

Secondly, within 7 legislative days after receiving the report in July, both the House and Senate would vote on whether to release the remaining defense funds. The bill guarantees two votes by Congress in July.

The bill guarantees a vote on an amendment to the measure releasing the remaining defense funding, which would provide that this funding could only be used for planning and executing the redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq within 180 days of the bill's enactment, with only limited exceptions to this redeployment for troops for training and equipping Iraqi troops, targeted counterterrorism operations, and force protection.

The bill also guarantees a vote on the underlying measure releasing the remaining defense funds.

Expedited procedures are included in the bill to guarantee that the votes take place in both the House and Senate by the end of July.

In addition, the bill:

Requires the President to submit a monthly report accounting for the number of Iraqi security battalions at each level of combat proficiency

Includes a sense of Congress provision that as battalions of the security forces of Iraq achieve the appropriate combat proficiency sufficient to conduct independent combat operations without support from Coalition forces in Iraq, units of the United States should be withdrawn

Includes a prohibition on establishment of permanent bases in Iraq

Includes a prohibition on torture

Includes the Murtha troop readiness provisions

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