01/28/07: It's time Congress used the power of the purse

It's Time Congress Used Power Of The Purse
Wisconsin State Journal :: OPINION :: C2
Sunday, January 28, 2007
JANET PARKER

What will Dave Obey do?

U.S. Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wausau, continues to speak out clearly on the Iraq war.

I take heart to know that he shares the viewpoint of the overwhelming majority of Americans who believe that it is time to bring our troops home from Iraq.

Obey wrote this week, "It will be very difficult for the Congress to prevent the president from proceeding with his escalation (of troops in Iraq). But we must try."

Wisconsinites look to Rep. Obey with great hope, because we know that he's in an extremely powerful position, and if he does try he could lead Congress to use the power of the purse to get our troops out of harm's way in Iraq.

Last week Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., testified before Congress about how he plans to try.

"We can't afford to continue this course," he said. "I have consistently called for the redeployment of our military from Iraq, but now Congress must use its main power -- the power of the purse -- to put an end to our involvement in this disastrous war. Over the next several weeks, I, and I hope the rest of my colleagues, will take a hard look at just how we should do that."

Rep. Obey began his work in Congress in 1969, elected for his commitment to work to end the Vietnam War. Once in the House, he helped lead the successful effort to use congressional powers to bring the war to an end -- against the will of the president -- by restricting funding.

I hope Rep. Obey will try again, in that same way, to extricate us from the tragically similar war in Iraq.

In response to a spate of commendable new Democratic bills calling on the president to change his strategy in Iraq, Tony Snow said this week that the resolutions would not deter Bush. These bills are not binding, so the commander in chief can and will ignore them. But funding bills he must abide by.

As chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Obey is the most powerful Wisconsin legislator in Congress, and among the most powerful elected officials in the country.

In the coming weeks, Obey will be writing a supplemental funding bill for the Iraq War. Bush has requested an additional $99 billion dollars for the war, to add to $70 billion already allocated for 2007 in the regular U.S. Department of Defense bill.

I hope that Obey will include in that funding bill Rep. Jack Murtha's new Resolution 18, which calls for redeployment of all our forces from Iraq. Attaching Murtha's legislation to funding will mean that our troops would be safely provided for during an orderly withdrawal.

But it would not write Bush another blank check for continuing the occupation, nor for a surge in troop levels.

The risk exists that Bush would veto such a bill, but he would then be left without funds to carry on the war. As Sen. Feingold says, the power of the purse is the main power that Congress holds to end our involvement.

Rep. Obey can now take the lead, as he did in his first terms in Congress, to end what he and the American people know is a destabilizing and unnecessary war. The November elections showed clearly that this is by far the most important work that Americans want the Democrats to carry out in Congress.

Representative Obey, please do try.