We Stopped the War Funding in the House. Call Your Senators Now! Vote Likely This Week: Call Now!!!

By David Swanson

On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted No and blocked Speaker Nancy Pelosi's latest proposal to throw another $165 billion into the occupation of Iraq. This happened in large part because ordinary citizens pressured their representatives to vote No. In the final count 147 Democrats (plus 2 Republicans) voted No, 132 Republicans voted Present (neither Yes nor No), 12 members did not vote, and only 141 voted Yes. Here's the roll call. We only have to win in one house or the other, but if the Senate passes it, it'll go back to the House. We have to oppose this at every stage. Call 202-224-3121 every day!

More on the first House vote:

While the Republicans had less of an impact than the Democrats, the corporate media is quickly giving the Republicans credit for blocking the vote. This is nonsense. This vote was blocked by 149 Democrats finally - FINALLY - doing the right thing. We should thank them immediately. We should thank each other for having moved them. We should contact the media and praise them. We should have flowers delivered to their offices on Friday.

Now, the possibility remains that we're being played for fools, and that many of those who voted No intend to make a lot of noise about it and then turn around and try to quietly vote Yes on a different version cooked up by Pelosi or on a version that comes back from the Senate for final approval. But that's all the more reason to make a big giant humungous stink about how amazing it is and how grateful we are that 149 of our representatives FINALLY saw fit to represent us. If we can make this thing stick, we can end the killing and give birth to an opposition Party in one stroke.

In other news, the two separate amendments that went along with the war money did pass. One of them includes money for useful things like veterans care. It may fail in the Senate or in conference or cause a veto. The other restricts the war money to particular illegal activities while prohibiting its use for others. That one looks even more ridiculous than it originally did, because it's now restricting money that wasn't passed. These two amendments were passed by the Democrats, by the way. The Republicans are a minority and were decisive in none of the three votes.

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Here's a statement from United for Peace and Justice
http://unitedforpeace.org

Antiwar Movement Applauds House Vote Against Additional War Funding
United for Peace and Justice Urges Continued Pressure on Congress

New York, NY -- In an amazing turn of events, the House of Representatives today voted AGAINST the supplemental funding for the war in Iraq.

The bill would have provided $166 billion in war funding, the largest single provision since the war started in 2003. In a move that no one expected, dozens of Republicans voted "present," which is the same as abstaining on the vote. This meant that the 149 NO votes were enough to defeat the bill. (141 votes where cast in favor.)

"This was a tremendous victory for the antiwar movement. It was the hard work of people all around the country that secured those 149 clear NO votes. But our work is far from over," said Leslie Cagan, National Coordinator of United for Peace and Justice.

Sue Udry, UFPJ's Legilsative Coordinator said, "The bill now moves to the Senate, where we can expect an attempt to add the war funding back into the bill. After that, the bill will go to a conference committee, then back for a re-vote in both the House and the Senate. That means we need to keep up the pressure on both the House and the Senate."

UFPJ played a major role in mobilizing thousands of people all across the country to pressure their members of Congress. In recent weeks people have called, visited, faxed and emailed their representatives with a clear message: It is time to stop providing "blank checks" for the continuation of the war and occupation in Iraq. Finally, our elected officials have begun to respond to the overwhelming majority of the people of this country who want the troops to come home.

United for Peace and Justice is calling on people to take the following steps:
1) If your member of the House voted NO on the funding, call your rep (202-224-3121), say thanks and ask him or her to hold firm over the next few weeks.

2) If your member voted yes or present, call your rep (202-224-3121) and tell him or her to vote against any funding bill that might come before the House in the next few weeks.

3) We must all escalate our pressure on the Senate! Call your two senators (202-224-3121) and let them know how strongly you oppose further funding for this war!

4) Write letters to your local newspapers, call into radio talk shows, organize a vigil or picket in front of your senators' local offices, put together a non-violent civil disobedience action at their offices.

5) Get word out that parts of the 4 hours of Winter Soldier testimony that was delivered at a hearing organized by the Congressional Progressive Caucus on Capitol Hill this morning will be broadcast on the News Hour with Jim Lehrer (PBS) tomorrow evening!

Let us claim this victory and at the same time push as hard as we can to stop the Senate from giving the green light on billions more of our tax dollars going into this war and occupation.

Additional Information
Two other measures were passed in the House this afternoon. The first of those had some good provisions (no permanent bases, no use of torture), but also included a non-binding goal for the withdrawal of U.S. troops to be completed by December 2009. This would keep our troops in Iraq for another year and half, and this timeline is only a goal. In other words, this doesn't even come close to our call for all of the troops to come home now. The second measure that passed today would increase veterans benefits and provide funding for some important domestic needs.

We expect the Senate to vote next week. We would have predicted that they would put the war funding back into the measure, take out the conditions they don't like (such as the goal for withdrawal) and make changes to the domestic funding package. Given the unexpected development in the House -- all bets are off on what the Senate will do. After the Senate acts on the package, both chambers will negotiate and try to come up with a compromise, which will then go before both chamber for a re-vote.

United for Peace and Justice is the largest grassroots anti-war coalition in the country, consisting of more than 1,400 local and national groups throughout the United States who have joined together to protest the immoral and disastrous Iraq War and oppose our government's policy of permanent warfare and empire-building. UFPJ has organized the largest anti-war demonstrations in both NYC and Washington, DC, over the past five years. For more details, go to www.unitedforpeace.org.