[Peace-discuss] All Senate Dems Vote for War (fwd)

[Ricky Baldwin]

Thank god the founding f's had the wisdom and
foresight not to invest the pres with the power to
declare war, eh?

Whew!

--- "C. G. Estabrook" <galliher at alexia.lis.uiuc.edu>
wrote:
> [The Democrats will save us, right? In the Senate
> yesterday, all the
> Senate Dems voted for war.  Funding for the war in
> Iraq and Afghanistan
> and COLOMBIA passed unanimously, 97-0. Improvements
> in health care for
> veterans were rejected unanimously. Vicious
> bastards. --CGE]
> 
> Senate passes $447 billion defense bill with only
> part of money for wars
> 
> WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate passed a massive
> defense spending bill that,
> at $447 billion, still only covers a fraction of war
> costs in Iraq and
> Afghanistan.
> 
> The vote Wednesday night capped weeks of wrangling
> over missile defense,
> the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal and numerous other
> proposed amendments.
> 
> The bill, which now must be reconciled with a
> similar House bill passed a
> month ago, includes a military pay raise, an
> increase in the size of the
> Army and billions of dollars for weapons systems.
> 
> Lawmakers voted 97-0 shortly before midnight on the
> bill, which authorizes
> Pentagon and Energy Department defense programs for
> the budget year that
> begins in October.
> 
> The measure includes $25 billion for the wars in
> Iraq and Afghanistan. But
> the Bush administration plans to submit a
> supplemental budget at the start
> of the next calendar year, after November's
> election, that is expected to
> seek at least an additional $25 billion for the two
> ongoing military
> campaigns.
> 
> Defying the White House and Pentagon, senators also
> included a provision
> to add 20,000 troops to an Army stretched thin by
> the war in Iraq, the
> global war on terror and other commitments around
> the world.
> 
> Lawmakers have for months heard complaints from
> families of service men
> and women who have served repeated deployments or
> been forced to remain on
> duty after their obligation has ended under a
> Pentagon device called
> ''stop-loss.''
> 
> The Senate bill would increase the Army by about 4
> percent, to 502,400.
> The House version would add 30,000 Army soldiers and
> 9,000 Marines over
> three years.
> 
> The House also would delay for two years the next
> round of military base
> closures, set to take place next year. But,
> generally, the Senate
> authorization bill mirrors the House version, for
> instance also including
> an across-the-board 3.5 percent pay raise for
> military personnel and
> higher danger pay.
> 
> It authorizes $10.2 billion for a missile defense
> system and billions more
> for such programs as the F/A-22 Raptor aircraft,
> Joint Strike Fighter and
> DD(X) destroyer program.
> 
> Senators passed an amendment earlier Wednesday
> requiring President Bush to
> report to the Republican-controlled Congress on his
> efforts to stabilize
> Iraq. But they rejected one that would have forced
> him to give an estimate
> of how many American troops will remain in the
> violence-plagued country a
> year from now.
> 
> Drawing out the deliberations Wednesday was a heated
> debate over the
> growing Iraq prisoner abuse scandal, as Democrats
> pushed for an amendment
> requiring the administration to hand over memos on
> prisoner treatment and
> interrogations.
> 
> In the end, Republicans defeated a measure that
> would have declared all
> U.S. officials bound by anti-torture laws and
> required Pentagon reports on
> interrogation techniques, the number of detainees
> denied POW status, Red
> Cross findings on U.S. military prisons and a
> schedule for trying terror
> suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
> 
> The Republican-controlled chamber also rejected:
> 
> -A plan to extend prescription drug and health
> services to all veterans
> that lawmakers said would have cost $300 billion
> over 10 years.
> 
> -A proposal that National Guard and reservists
> become eligible for
> retirement benefits at age 55 instead of 60.
> 
> -A proposal to limit the growth of U.S. military and
> civilian contractors
> helping Colombia fight its drug war. Opponents said
> the full increase from
> 400 to 800 troops and 400 to 600 civilians was
> needed to keep up progress
> in the war, which also fights narco-terrorism.
> 
> While Wednesday's action authorized the defense
> programs, senators now
> must approve an appropriations bill to actually give
> the administration
> the money.
> 
> The House on Tuesday approved a $417 billion defense
> appropriations bill
> covering only the Defense Department programs. The
> Senate Appropriations
> Committee on Tuesday approved a similar $416 billion
> defense spending
> measure.
> 
> _______________________________________________
> 
> 
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