U.S. Congressman José E. Serrano ~ Representing the people of the 16th District of New York
7/30/2009
Serrano Votes Against War Funding
Today the House passed H.R. 3326, the annual Department of Defense Appropriations Bill, by a vote of 400-30. In addition to funding the Department of Defense, the bill provides funding for the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which have previously been paid for through supplemental appropriations bills. However, Congress and the Obama Administration believe that passing multiple bills obscures the true costs of the war and have therefore now combined the war funding into a single bill with the rest of the defense spending. Serrano joined 22 other Democrats in voting against the measure.
"I am supportive of the President's efforts to cut down on wasteful spending in the Defense Department and to make the spending on our ongoing wars more transparent," said Serrano. "Therefore, I am pleased that this bill takes steps to fulfill those goals. However, it is long past time that we left Iraq and Afghanistan. I could not vote for a bill that continues to fund the misbegotten war in Iraq and makes an open ended commitment to the war in Afghanistan."
H.R. 3326 will now have to be reconciled with the eventual Senate version of the bill and then signed by the President. However, he has threatened to veto the bill if several billion dollars worth of expensive weapon systems are not cut. These differences will have to be resolved before the bill becomes law.
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Posted by Serrano Press Office
at
7/30/2009
Tags: Iraq
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