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Feingold to Introduce Bill to Cut off the Funding for the Illegal War: Go Russ!!!

Submitted by davidswanson on Thu, 2007-01-25 17:10.

FEINGOLD CALLS RESOLUTION ON BUSH IRAQ PLAN TOO WEAK
By FREDERIC J. FROMMER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Sen. Russ Feingold had a message for colleagues who thought they were accomplishing something significant with a nonbinding resolution on Iraq Wednesday: They weren’t.

“My fear, Mr. Chairman, is this is slow walking,’’ Feingold said at a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which passed the resolution 12-9. “This is not a time for legislative nuancing. This is not a time for trying to forge a compromise that everybody can be a part of.’’

Feingold voted for the resolution, which said that Bush’s plans for a troop buildup in Iraq were “not in the national interest’’ of the United States, but said he would soon introduce legislation to cut off funding for the war.

“This is a time to stop the needless deaths of American troops in Iraq,’’ he said. “We have a moral responsibility, as well as a responsibility to the lives of the American people, to start doing it now.’’

The Wisconsin Democrat, sounding emotional, blasted his colleagues for not doing enough to stand up to the White House. “This committee, time and again, and this Senate, time and again, has allowed this administration to not allow us to talk about the very things that would have gotten us out of this war,’’ Feingold said. “...I see this committee and this Senate, once again, allowing itself to be intimidated into not talking about our real powers and our responsibilities.’’

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Joseph Biden, one of the sponsors of the nonbinding resolution, took issue with Feingold’s comments.

“I may have a reputation for a number of things, but I don’t think it’s
one of being intimidated by anybody — let alone a president,’’ said
Biden, a Delaware Democrat. “If you find a person who’s spoken more
frankly to seven presidents in the past, tell me who it was. So there is
no intimidation here.’’

Feingold also elaborated Wednesday on his promise to try to cut off
funding for the Iraq war. He said he would introduce a bill “to prohibit
funding at a date certain to get this thing done.’’

He said he will hold a hearing next week, as chairman of the Judiciary
Committee’s Constitution subcommittee, to emphasize Congress’ power of
the purse.

Feingold, the first senator to call for a timetable to bring troops back
from Iraq, introduced legislation early this month calling on troops to
be withdrawn six months after the bill’s enactment. The Senate has not
taken up that bill.

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