FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Isakson Urges Swift Passage of Iraq Spending Bill Without Timeline for Withdrawal of Troops
‘ We need to declare the resolve to see the mission through’

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today praised President Bush’s decision to veto a military spending bill that set timelines for U.S. troop withdrawals in Iraq and urged swift passage of legislation to provide funds for American troops without the withdrawal mandates.

“It is absolutely wrong to tie the money to support our troops to arbitrary timetables that have nothing to do with success or failure,” Isakson said on the Senate floor. “We need a spending bill that supports our men and women, who are deployed in defense of freedom, and gives them everything they deserve and everything they need without strings attached.”

Isakson again stressed how critical it is for America to remain committed to Iraq and to the War on Terror. The military spending bill the president vetoed set a date certain of October 1, 2007, for beginning the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.

“We do not need to declare that we have lost the mission. We need to declare the resolve to see the mission through,” Isakson said. “Let's resolve to fund our troops. Let's resolve to do it without conditions on those troops. Let's resolve to do it without declaring defeat, but, instead, in the interest of and with a commitment to victory.”

The Army has already begun cutting back on non-essential equipment repair and training, and the Department of Defense has requested permission to transfer $1.6 billion from Navy and Air Force pay accounts to the Army’s operating fund. If the Army does not receive the necessary funding in May, it will have to institute further cutbacks, including a freeze on civilian hiring and further cuts to equipment repair.

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