(Let's hope! -- Belle)

 

New York Times, January 30, 2007,  11:27 am
Feingold Tugs on Iraq Purse Strings
By Jeff Zeleny

 

Senator Russell Feingold of Wisconsin is leading a hearing today in the Judiciary Committee about a topic that makes many of his fellow Democrats squirm: using the power of the purse to bring an end to the Iraq war.

For all the harsh criticism against President Bush’s plan to send more troops to Iraq, most Democrats blanch at the notion of cutting funding for new troops. Not Mr. Feingold, who believes his party has been too timid on this front. This is how Mr. Feingold opened the hearing:

“There is little doubt that decisive action from the Congress is needed. Despite the results of the election, and two months of study and supposed consultation �?during which experts and members of Congress from across the political spectrum argued for a new policy �?the president has decided to escalate the war. When asked whether he would persist in this policy despite congressional opposition, he replied: ‘Frankly, that’s not their responsibility.�?BR>

“Last week Vice President Cheney was asked whether the non-binding resolution passed by the Foreign Relations Committee that will soon be considered by the full Senate would deter the President from escalating the war. He replied: ‘It’s not going to stop us.�?BR>

“In the United States of America, the people are sovereign, not the president. It is Congress’s responsibility to challenge an administration that persists in a war that is misguided and that the country opposes. We cannot simply wring our hands and complain about the Administration’s policy. We cannot just pass resolutions saying “your policy is mistaken.�?

And we can’t stand idly by and tell ourselves that it’s the president’s job to fix the mess he made. It’s our job to fix the mess, and if we don’t do so we are abdicating our responsibilities.

“Tomorrow, I will introduce legislation that will prohibit the use of funds to continue the deployment of U.S. forces in Iraq six months after enactment. By prohibiting funds after a specific deadline, Congress can force the President to bring our forces out of Iraq and out of harm’s way.

“This legislation will allow the President adequate time to redeploy our troops safely from Iraq, and it will make specific exceptions for a limited number of U.S. troops who must remain in Iraq to conduct targeted counter-terrorism and training missions and protect U.S. personnel.

“It will not hurt our troops in any way ­ï¿½?they will continue receiving their equipment, training and salaries. It will simply prevent the President from continuing to deploy them to Iraq. By passing this bill, we can finally focus on repairing our military and countering the full range of threats that we face around the world.�?BR>

Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts has already introduced legislation to block funding of new troops. Stay tuned to see how many �?if any �?Democrats join them.