FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Contact: Margaret Wicker
April 26 , 2007	(202)224-6414

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) urged his colleagues to expedite funding to United States forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.  He offered the following remarks on the floor of the U.S. Senate:

“Mr. President, this Conference Report is the wrong response to the President's request for the supplemental funding that is urgently needed by the Department of Defense.

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“I am very disappointed that this bill includes language that sets forth a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. We should be providing the President with a bill he can sign so our military forces can receive the funding they need now.

“I recently brought to the attention of the Senate a letter I received from the Joint Chiefs of Staff on April 2 describing the urgency of an appropriations bill and their concerns about further delays of funding.  It has been, now, over three weeks since that letter was received. It is very clear that delay is occurring and it is undermining the ability to manage the responsibilities of the Department of Defense.

“We're talking about life-and-death situations and the ability to obtain equipment, armaments, and the training that is necessary for our armed forces to carry out their mission.

The Joint Chiefs pointed out in their letter that without approval of the supplemental funds in April, the armed services will be forced to take increasingly disruptive measures in order to sustain combat operations. In addition, they stated that these restrictions increased the burden on service members and their families during this time of war.

“Mr. President, I cannot support this effort to dictate the management of this very serious threat to our nation's security interests. The opponents of the President's efforts to win the battle against the terrorists should not be permitted to hijack this Supplemental Appropriations Bill.

The responsible thing for us to do is to send this Conference Report to the President so he can veto it.  We can then revise it so it can be enacted without the offensive language.”