Gus Bilirakis not only doesn't want to bring the troops home - He doesn't want to pay them either

H R 1591
U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act, 2007

YEA-AND-NAY
23-Mar-2007 12:43 PM

QUESTION: On Passage

BILL TITLE: Making emergency supplemental appropriations for fiscal year ending September 30, 2007, and for other purposes

VOTE PASSED
Bilirakis - NO

An Historic Day

"Benchmarks without deadlines are just words, and,
after four years of this war,words are not enough."
- Speaker Pelosi

Today, the House of Representatives passed the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act by a vote of 218 to 212. We made a critical choice—a choice to hold the Bush Administration and the Iraqi government accountable, and to set a responsible timeline for the redeployment of U.S. troops.

Our legislation fully supports our troops and ensures they have the tools and resources they need to do they job they have been asked to do. It prohibits the deployment of troops who are not “fully mission capable” – fully trained, equipped, and protected. It also honors the promises made to our veterans, funding our obligation to the new generation of veterans.

By requiring the Iraqi government to meet key security, political, and economic benchmarks that President Bush himself has laid out, we are holding the Iraqi government accountable. Failure to meet these benchmarks will mean the beginning of U.S withdrawal from Iraq and will restrict economic aid to the Iraqis.

The redeployment of our troops will allow us to focus more fully on the real war on terror, which is in Afghanistan. This bill takes giant steps toward putting resources into that war, which has been nearly forgotten by the Bush Administration.

President Bush continues to offer an open-ended commitment to a war that cannot be resolved militarily. Today, the House of Representatives passed legislation that will, for the first time, set a date for the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq and begin to end the war.