McGovern bill to end the war. "End the War in Iraq Act of 2005"

I have not seen this posted, and it is probably the most important bill introduced so far in regards to the war.
Many other bills and resolutions call for a withdraw at a later date, with conditions attatched. Some bills have called for a beginning of withdraw at the end of 2006(!) and then only the start.

This bill does to the Iraq war what Congress finally did to the Vietnam war. It simply stopped funding it.

Rep. Jim McGovern (no relation to George, in case you were wondering) (D-MA) today introduced H.R. 4232, the "End the War in Iraq Act of 2005"

Rep. McGovern's long-awaited bill cutting off funding for the war was introduced today!

The bill would allow Defense Dept. funds to be used only to provide for:

the safe and orderly withdrawal of all troops;
consultations with other governments, NATO and the UN regarding international forces;
financial assistance and equipment to either Iraqi security forces and/or international forces.
In addition, the bill would not prohibit or restrict non-defense funding to carry out reconstruction in Iraq

The following members (all Democrats) are original co-sponsors:
Frank, Schakowsky, Serrano, Velezquez, Woolsey, J. Lewis, D. Payne, Waters, Stark, C. Kilpatrick, Kucinich, B. Lee

In a conference call today with Peace Action, Rep.McGovern commended the work of all peace activists, saying that Iraq is only being debated because of our work. He noted "courage and intelligence is not a prerequisite for serving in Congress" and called on us to keep up the great work.

i strongly support this bill although i'd like to read the details ...

got a link?

on edit: i tried to recommend this thread but received an error and the counter did not increase to two ... now it won't let me recommend it "a second time" ...

i wonder if my congressman, barney frank, supports the bill.

this is from the OP:

"The following members (all Democrats) are original co-sponsors:
Frank, Schakowsky, Serrano, Velezquez, Woolsey, J. Lewis, D. Payne, Waters, Stark, C. Kilpatrick, Kucinich, B. Lee"

i assume the first name on the list of co-sponsors, "Frank", is Barney Frank ...

i probably should have caught that the first time i read it.

:kick:

:dem:

LOL

Truer words were never spoken.

Thank you to these few Congresspeople who are displaying vast amounts of courage and intelligence. :)

We should all write our congresspeeps and ask them to suppotr this bill!!! I would love to see some Republican names listed as sponsors as well...

:patriot:

he used that exact same phrase when i heard him speak at a public forum in his district about his trip to Iraq ...

does anyone have a link to the info posted in the OP ??

I'll be contacting my congressman to back this bill. Alas, he has a record of keeping his head down.

person in NY to support this.

This news makes me so happy, I hope DU'ers really get behind it.

We should demand our Congresspeople support this (ok, easy for me to say, my congressperson is Barbara Lee, and she mostly speaks for me). It should also be doable for many who live in progressive districts,and then beyond. No doubt there will be many more endorsements in the near future.

I think that first, defunding this illegal, immoral war is the best thing one could do for our nation, our planet, and the Iraqi people. That is what is most important for me, so that is why i support it.

However, by Democrats offering this kind of real alternative to the American people, this will be very helpful to the fortunes of the Party. I think the sorry state of the Democrats right now (despite the even sorrier state of the Republicans) is that they offer no real alternative. Some weak resolutions to begin withdrawal a year from now (if all goes well!) does nothing to counter a President who says he will withdrawal troops as soon as "they get the job done". With no real alternative, it is not surprising that most of the public remains unexcited about elections. If, however, this is pushed and presented widely to the American people, it will bode well for the Democrats. People will become involved if they think there is a difference worth fighting for, if Democrats present a real alternative.

And then we take back Halliburton's bonus and make them return their overcharges to pay the troops a well deserved bonus when they return.

!Thank you to everyone's tireless efforts!
"Iraq is only being debated because of our work"

THE TEXT OF THE BILL:

109th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 4232
To prohibit the use of funds to deploy United States Armed Forces to Iraq.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

November 4, 2005
Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. VELAZQUEZ, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. STARK, Ms. WATERS, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, and Ms. LEE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on International Relations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A BILL
To prohibit the use of funds to deploy United States Armed Forces to Iraq.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `End the War in Iraq Act of 2005'.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS TO DEPLOY ARMED FORCES TO IRAQ.

(a) Prohibition- Except as provided in subsection (b), funds appropriated or otherwise made available under any provision of law may not be obligated or expended to deploy or continue to deploy the Armed Forces to the Republic of Iraq.

(b) Exception- Subsection (a) shall not apply to the use of funds to--

(1) provide for the safe and orderly withdrawal of the Armed Forces from Iraq; or

(2) ensure the security of Iraq and the transition to democratic rule by--

(A) carrying out consultations with the Government of Iraq, other foreign governments, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United Nations, and other international organizations; or

(B) providing financial assistance or equipment to Iraqi security forces and international forces in Iraq.

(c) Rule of Construction- Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit or otherwise restrict the use of funds available to any department or agency of the Government of the United States (other than the Department of Defense) to carry out social and economic reconstruction activities in Iraq.

(d) Definition- In this section, the term `Armed Forces' has the meaning given the term in section 101(a)(4) of title 10, United States Code.