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NEW YORK - Congressman Charles Rangel , a vocal critic of the Iraq War who has also introduced legislation to reinstate the draft, said today that a Congressional Budge Office (CBO) report had conformed his long-held belief that the heaviest burden of the war is on the shoulders poorer Americans.
The CBO report, The All-Volunteer Military: Issues and Performance, was conducted at the request of Congressman John Murtha, Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.
Agreeing with earlier, non-governmental and Defense Department studies of representation in the military by various economic groups, the CBO report concluded that "areas in the low-to-middle range of household incomes were overrepresented" in the military compared to their representation in the general population.
The 37-page report also found that the wealthiest households, as well as those with incomes well below the median income were underrepresented among recruits.
"I interpret the CBO report as evidence that lower income and middle-class Americans are carrying the brunt of the battle," Congressman Rangel said.
"We already know that these troops are being redeployed three, four and sometimes five times because the ranks are overextended. The President's insistence on the so-called surge and refusal to change policy is being paid for by a small group of patriotic Americans," the Congressman said.
Americans are opposed to this war. It's shameful that we're using an economic draft to fill the ranks and stretching them to the limit," Congressman Rangel said.
Among the major issues considered by the CBO were: whether the armed forces will have enough troops available to accomplish their missions; whether military personnel and their families are experiencing hardships not shared by the general population; and whether less affluent people are more likely to serve in the military.
"The CBO doesn't make political judgments in its reports," Congressman Rangel said. "But it is abundantly clear to me that the only Americans making a sacrifice in this war are the troops and their families. The President has never called on the public at large to make a contribution.
"I still contend that if the country at large -- particularly decision makers -- had believed their families and communities were at risk for deployment in Iraq, the war would never have started in the first place," Congressman Rangel said.
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