House Leadership Set to Fund War into 2009!

The House of Representatives will vote as soon as tomorrow -- Thursday, May 8 -- on
an additional $178 billion for the war and occupation in Iraq!

Amazingly, the bill includes $70 billion for fiscal year 2009. This means the funds
for the occupation will keep flowing well into the next administration, allowing the
new president a free hand to continue the war and occupation with little or no
accountability to Congress until next spring. This is an appalling abdication of
responsibility.

At a time when money is urgently needed in our communities, the new bill would bring
the total for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to an unimaginable $874 billion. By
including FY09 funding, the Democratic Party House leadership is effectively taking
the war off the congressional agenda for the rest of this year. This might be our
last opportunity to fight a war funding bill before the next president takes office
and the new Congress is seated.

YOUR CALL TODAY IS CRUCIAL.

Call your representative NOW: 202-224-3121
Tell them to vote "No!" on this funding bill.
Tell them it's long past time to bring all the troops home and end the war.
Tell them to stop playing political games while lives are being lost.

Please let us know you called: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/callreport

Don't let the House Democratic leadership take us for granted. If this funding bill
passes, Congress will have handed Bush $874 billion for the illegal war and
occupation of Iraq. With this funding bill, they are laying the groundwork for the
next president to continue the occupation. We must send them a message: The voters
will remember in November!

Background
House leadership met behind closed doors on Monday evening to concoct a plan that
will keep the war going into the next president's first term. They plan to bring a
$178 billion war funding bill to the floor for a vote on Thursday, May 8. In
addition to the funding bill, they will vote separately on two other measures. One
will provide billions for unemployment benefits and veterans education benefits; the
other measure addresses war policy, including a goal for troop withdrawal by
December 2009, troop readiness requirements, and bans on permanent bases in Iraq and
torture. It is an open secret that the Senate will drop the measure on war policy --
leaving only the war funding with no strings attached.

Impact of War on the Iraqi People
The U.S. war/occupation in Iraq has taken hundreds of thousands of lives, devastated
families and ripped apart the infrastructure of Iraq. One striking fact is that more
than 4.7 million Iraqis (in a nation of 27 million people) have been displaced by
war and occupation. It is the world's fastest growing refugee crisis, and represents
the largest refugee flow in the Middle East since the displacement of Palestinians
in 1948. For more information go to: http://www.afsc.org/iraq/refugee-crisis.htm

Peace,


Leslie Cagan
National Coordinator, UFPJ

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