Carol Shea Porter's Statement on the Supplemental

[Raven]

Carol's statement on the Supplement


As you all know, I had planned to vote against the Supplement to fund the Iraq war. I am still deeply opposed to this war for moral, political and logistical reasons. I just risked life and limb in Iraq two weeks ago to look at the situation myself and came back as determined as ever to end the war as soon as possible. This is the only reason I have decided to vote for this Supplement. This Supplement has an exit date and an exit strategy. As long as the date stays in, I am going to vote for the Supplement. We have worked as hard as we can in Congress to get the conservative Democrats to commit, and this is the best we can do. If the Democrats lose this vote, the Republicans will put in a spending supplement with no date and conservative Democrats will join them and they will win. We need 218 votes to pass a Supplement with a date, and I could not live with myself if I voted against it, knowing that George Bush and the Republicans who support him will still get their Supplement -- but with no date or exit strategy.


This war has ground on long enough. I do know that the president will ignore this. But the point is that he will either have to certify that the troops are ready and that they have the equipment they need or ask for a waiver. Either way this will trigger action by Congress. It is so crucial to pass legislation that has a date, that sends a message to the president, to the country, and to the world, and I could not live with myself if I lacked the courage to make this difficult vote.


I have heard from so many people who are upset and ask how I could possibly vote for this Supplement. My question in return is how could I possibly turn down the first exit date this war has ever had? If I were a Congress of one, or if the Progressives or Out of Iraq group had the votes, of course I would vote to end the war faster. However I can do the math, and voting against the Supplement means voting for the war.


During the many heated discussions about the supplemental budget, I have listened, and I have argued. I am convinced that the conservative Democrats will come no closer and that we have struck the best deal possible. We might feel better initially but it will be far worse to allow the president and the Republicans who support him to win their Supplement with no exit date. I have seen our troops in Iraq and I owe them and their families an exit date. Come July 1st when Congress starts to move on this date, I will know I did the right thing helping this nation to start ending this war.


I don't mean to sound so dramatic about this, but it truly is heart-wrenching. I wish I and the other moderates/progressives could have pushed the conservatives closer but I promise you we pushed as hard as we could and this is the best we could do. We wanted to give the president a shorter leash, they wanted a longer or no leash, but at least we got the leash.


I have been very clear that the only reason I support this Supplement is because it has an exit date, and I hope you understand that the exit date makes all the difference. Feel free to pass this around. As always I have listened and I have agonized.


Thanks for reading this and for your understanding. Let's keep working together to end this war.


Carol