Schakowsky Votes Against Further War Funding

 

WASHINGTON, DC (July 27, 2010) — Today Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) issued the following statement on her vote against $37 billion in funding to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She is a member of the recently-created Out of Afghanistan Caucus and a longtime opponent of the war in Iraq.

"I cannot support further war funding because I do not believe we can solve the problems we face in Afghanistan by military force.  We need to ask ourselves if our current policy in Afghanistan is making us safer. And I think there is substantial evidence that suggests the answer is no. Instead of prolonging our military engagement, we should be working to redeploy our troops and to focus instead on increased diplomatic and economic solutions.

"I am also extremely disappointed that this legislation to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan stripped out critical funding to prevent the layoffs of over 100,000 teachers and other critical domestic priorities. Rather than fund $37 billion for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we should address an educational emergency and meet the needs of students in our country....