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WASHINGTON, DC.—Today, the U.S. House of Representatives took the historic step of passing legislation that will, for the first time, set a timeline for a phased redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq to be completed by no later than August 2008. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) voted in support of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veteran’s Health and Iraq Accountability Act, which passed the U.S. House by a vote of 218-212.
“Today’s historic vote marked the beginning of the end of the war in Iraq,” said U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky. “After four horrifying years in Iraq, the end of the war is finally set. Today, we responded to the majority of Americans who want an end to this war by sending a clear message to the President that we are no longer going to sit by while more of our troops continue to die in the meat grinder that is Iraq. This bill forces the President to meet his own benchmarks and to put an end to the bloodshed in Iraq.”
“As someone who voted against the war, and as a founder of the Out of Iraq Caucus, I would have preferred to redeploy our troops long ago. However, I voted for this bill because it will move us closer to our goal of ending this war once and for all. I truly believe that this is a positive first step in the process of getting our troops home and ending this disastrous war,” said U.S. Rep. Schakowsky.
The U.S. Troop Readiness, Veteran’s Health and Iraq Accountability Act of 2007 will set a specific deadline for withdrawing our troops from Iraq. The bill sets a timeline for a phased redeployment of U.S. troops to be completed no later than August 2008. The redeployment could begin as early as July 1, 2007 if the President is unable to certify the political and military benchmarks set by his administration.
The bill will also provide emergency funding for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, veterans’ health care, Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery, homeland security, agricultural disaster assistance, State’s Children Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) and the pandemic flu.
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