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Skriven 2007-04-03 23:31:44 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0704032) for Tue, 2007 Apr 3
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Setting The Record Straight: Sen. Reid's Misleading Comments About Iraq
Funding
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For Immediate Release April 3, 2007

Setting The Record Straight: Sen. Reid's Misleading Comments About Iraq
Funding Military Leaders Have Made Clear Our Troops Immediately Need
Emergency Funds

ÿÿWhite House News


"Instead of listening to the Democratic Party's extreme fringe, Sen. Reid
should listen to the Generals who have made clear the consequences facing
our military if Democrats in Congress continue to play politics instead of
passing an emergency troops funding bill the President can sign."

 White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino, 4/3/07

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV): The President's "own Generals have said [funding]
will last until the end of June."ÿ (Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), Press
Conference, 4/3/07)
  þ But our military leadership has made clear our troops immediately need
    emergency supplemental funds.
      þ Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker and Acting Secretary
        of the Army Pete Geren: "We are particularly concerned as Congress
        is set to recess until mid-April without enacting this essential
        legislation.ÿ Without approval of the supplemental funds in April,
        we will be forced to take increasingly draconian measures which
        will impact Army readiness and impose hardships on our soldiers and
        their families."ÿ (Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker and Pete Geren, Letter
        To Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), 3/28/07)
      þ Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen.Peter Pace: After
        mid-April, "the Army has told us that they will have to begin
        curtailing some training here at home for Guard, Reserve, and for
        units, which means that the baseline for those units will be
        reduced as far as their capability, and when they're called, it
        will take them longer to be ready and could, over time, delay their
        availability to go back into combat." (Committee On Appropriations,
        Defense Subcommittee, U.S. House Of Representatives, Hearing,
        3/29/07)

President Bush Discusses The Importance Of Funding Our Troops
  þ President Bush: "If Congress fails to act in the next few weeks, it
    will have significant consequences for our men and women in the Armed
    Forces."ÿ "As the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Pace,
    recently stated during his testimony before a House subcommittee, if
    Congress fails to pass a bill I can sign by mid-April, the Army will be
    forced to consider cutting back on equipment, equipment repair, and
    quality of life initiatives for our Guard and reserve forces.ÿ These
    cuts would be necessary because the money will have to be shifted to
    support the troops on the front lines."ÿ(President George W. Bush,
    Statement On The Emergency Supplemental, The White House, 4/3/07)
  þ President Bush: "The Army also would be forced to consider curtailing
    some training for Guard and reserve units here at home.ÿ This would
    reduce their readiness and could delay their availability to mobilize
    for missions in Afghanistan and Iraq."
  þ President Bush: "If Congress fails to pass a bill I can sign by
    mid-May, the problems grow even more acute."ÿ "The Army would be forced
    to consider slowing or even freezing funding for its depots, where the
    equipment our troops depend on is repaired.ÿ They will also have to
    consider delaying or curtailing the training of some active duty
    forces, reducing the availability of these forces to deploy overseas.ÿ
    If this happens, some of the forces now deployed in Afghanistan and
    Iraq may need to be extended because other units are not ready to take
    their places. ÿIf Congress does not act, the Army may also have to
    delay the formation of new brigade combat teams, preventing us from
    getting those troops into the pool of forces that are available to
    deploy. ÿIf these new teams are unavailable, we would have to ask other
    units to extend into the theater."ÿ (President George W. Bush,
    Statement On The Emergency Supplemental, The White House, 4/3/07)

Delays Are Already Impacting Troops And Readiness
  þ Last week, the Defense Department notified Congress that in order to
    meet the force protection needs of the Marine Corps and the Army, it is
    borrowing funds from other important Marine and Army procurement
    programs.ÿThis borrowing means using funding intended for medium
    tactical vehicle replacement, Humvees and Humvee equipment, the
    tactical communications modernization program, and upgrades for other
    vehicles.ÿ
      þ This reprogramming of funds is only necessary because Congress has
        failed to act in a timely manner on the president's emergency
        funding request.ÿ This underscores the need to get the President a
        bill he can sign that accomplishes what the troops and military
        commanders need.ÿ

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