HRES 1019 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the current economic slowdown in the United States is directly related to the enormous costs of the ongoing occupation of Iraq, consigning the United States to what can only be called the Iraq recession, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

March 4, 2008

Ms. LEE (for herself, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. WOOLSEY, and Mr. GRIJALVA) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed ServicesCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the current economic slowdown in the United States is directly related to the enormous costs of the ongoing occupation of Iraq, consigning the United States to what can only be called the Iraq recession, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the current economic slowdown in the United States is directly related to the enormous costs of the ongoing occupation of Iraq, consigning the United States to what can only be called the Iraq recession;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas March 19, 2008, marks the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, which has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 members of the United States Armed Forces and resulted in injuries to more than 28,000 others, many suffering the most horrific of wounds which will scar them for life;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas to date, American taxpayers have spent more than $495 billion to invade and occupy a country that had not attacked us and posed no threat of harm to our vital interests;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the average monthly operating costs for United States operations in Iraq have grown from $4.8 billion in fiscal year 2004 to $10.3 billion in fiscal year 2007, a doubling in only four years;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas a recent estimate from Nobel Laureate and former chief economist at the World Bank, Joseph Stiglitz, indicates that the cost to the United States by the end of the Iraq war could total more than $3 trillion;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the President's budget proposal for fiscal year 2009 calls for $23 billion in cuts to domestic programs, eliminating 50 education programs, 20 programs to improve healthcare access, and cutting discretionary grants to States and local governments by $15.1 billion;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas President George W. Bush has requested more than $170 billion in additional funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas in addition to the enormous cost in blood and treasure, the indirect costs of the Iraq war have harmed America's international standing and engendered a generation of future enemies incensed by the endless occupation of their country by a foreign power;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the collateral consequences of the decision to wage war and occupy Iraq extend to the home front due to the inability of the United States to finance investments needed to rebuild its infrastructure, make housing more affordable, improve educational opportunities, and secure the homeland;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas five years after the start of the Iraq war the great majority of Americans now regard the decision to go to war in Iraq as a mistake and 68 percent of Americans believe that ending the war and occupation in Iraq is an important step the United States Government can take to respond to the current economic recession and to address pressing human and social needs in the United States and to maintain American competitiveness in the global economy;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas there were 36.5 million Americans living in poverty in 2006;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas at least two million more Americans have fallen into poverty in the five years since the invasion of Iraq;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas there were more than 47 million Americans without health insurance in 2006;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas it is projected that more than two million American families will lose their homes to foreclosure, primarily in fiscal years 2008 and 2009;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the $495 billion spent to cover the costs of the war in Iraq could have provided health care to 140 million persons or funded eight million elementary school teachers or provided scholarships to 80 million college students;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the enormous sums spent fighting a war more costly than World War II could have been used instead to build 50,000 new elementary schools or 3.5 million affordable housing units or hire 10 million new first responders or 7 million persons to inspect the cargo entering United States ports or to retrofit more than 500 million homes to use renewable electricity;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the money spent on the war and occupation in Iraq constitutes a continuing danger to the United States because it is money that is desperately needed but not available to assist State and local governments in coping with the decline in revenues resulting from falling property values and the economic downturn; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas State and local revenues are falling at the same time that the demand is increasing for programs serving children, the elderly, the poor, the homeless, and those facing the loss of their homes and rather than increasing funding for these programs to respond to demonstrated need, State and local governments will be forced to cut back or eliminate programs that assist society's most vulnerable persons at the most vulnerable time in their lives, which would constitute perhaps the greatest unintended consequence of the Iraq war: Now, therefore, be itCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) the current economic slowdown in the United States is directly related to the enormous costs of the ongoing occupation of Iraq, which have inflicted incalculable damage to the economic well-being of the United States and its standing abroad, consigning the United States to what can only be called the Iraq recession; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) Congress should--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) move to redeploy United States Armed Forces and contractor security forces from Iraq as quickly and as safely as practical; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) refocus its efforts on addressing vital domestic priorities so as to alleviate the impact of the slowing economy and protect the economic security of all Americans.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink