(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Congressman Dennis Moore (Third District – Kansas) released the following statement regarding the House passing H.R. 1591, the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Health and Iraq Accountability Act:

“The American people overwhelmingly support a new direction in Iraq,” Moore said. “This emergency supplemental provides funding to ensure that our women and men serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have all the equipment, training and resources they need. The bill also provides billions of dollars to ensure that our returning troops and veterans receive the excellent medical care that they have earned and deserve. I hope the President supports the troops and signs the bill approved by the House of Representatives.”

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If the President vetoes the Iraq supplemental bill, he will be vetoing:

More than $100 billion for the Department of Defense to fully fund our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan

• This funding will ensure that the troops on the ground have the equipment, the training, and the resources they need.
• This is funding that the President has requested and that he is denying our troops by vetoing the bill.
• This funding includes $750 million over the President’s original request for Afghanistan and $2 billion above the President’s request to improve military readiness.
• The legislation also includes a $1 billion increase for the National Guard and Reserve equipment and $1.1 billion for military housing.

A goal to withdraw by April 1, 2008, that is non-binding

Measures to protect our armed forces and improve military readiness

• The bill requires troop deployments to adhere to DOD’s current standards for unit readiness; the length of time troops can be deployed in Iraq; and the time troops are entitled to remain at home when they return unless the President certifies that it is in the interests of national security to waive any of these standards set by the DOD.

$3.1 billion to fully fund DOD’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)

More than $5 billion to ensure that returning troops and veterans receive the healthcare they have earned with their service

• This funding will be used to address the backlog at VA healthcare facilities and to prevent situations similar to those at Walter Reed.