Shortchanging our Troops to Fund a Global Bailout
A column by Congressman Geoff Davis
Washington,
Jun 23 -
During the week of June 18th, Congress approved the Supplemental Appropriations Act (H.R. 2346). As is the case too often in Washington, a good bipartisan initiative was ruined by unrelated and controversial add-ons that should have been debated in separate legislation. The brave patriots who dedicate their lives to serving and protecting our country deserve to have all the resources they need in a timely and efficient manner. They do not deserve to have critical funding diverted for international bailouts. As a result, H.R. 2346 received bipartisan opposition in both the House and the Senate.
At a time when Washington has already hijacked billions of taxpayer dollars to bail out the banking and auto industries in America, Democrat leaders decided to put taxpayers on the hook for a multi-billion dollar international loan program to bail out foreign economies. H.R. 2346 cuts funding for important defense and military programs by $4.6 billion while providing approximately the same amount of funding to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF will use that funding to secure $108 billion in loans, almost $30 billion more than what is provided for our men and women in uniform. The IMF funds could be available to countries like Venezuela, Sudan, and possibly even Iran, whose governments are less than favorable to the United States.
Additionally, the bill contains watered-down language that could allow Guantanamo Bay detainees to be brought into the United States. The legislation also eliminated important language that would have barred the release of photographic records of detainees taken between September 11, 2001 and January 22, 2009. Military commanders strongly oppose the release of these photos because they could be used as propaganda for al-Qaeda and endanger the lives of U.S. military personnel.
On May 14th, I joined 368 of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle in passing a clean troop funding bill (Roll Call Vote 265). On June 11th, a bipartisan majority of the House supported a Motion to Instruct Conferees that they return a troop funding bill without unrelated provisions. Unfortunately, the conferees produced a bill that reduced funding for our troops in order to fund a global bailout through the IMF.
As a former enlisted soldier, West Point graduate and eleven-year veteran, the welfare of America’s veterans and service members is of particular interest and concern to me. I have repeatedly supported legislation to provide the troops with the funding and equipment they need while opposing attempts to include extraneous provisions in vital national security legislation.
An emergency troop funding bill should be about funding for our troops. It should not be manipulated as a way to bully the American people into supporting a taxpayer-funded bailout of foreign economies. I am committed to supporting our brave men and women in uniform in harm’s way and I will not support them being used as leverage for a costly global bailout. I will continue fighting in Congress to make sure that our troops have what they need to be successful so that they can return home as soon as possible.
