Washington, D.C. – Council for a Livable World today applauded the Senate for defeating a Sen. Cochran (R-MS) amendment to the Supplemental Appropriations bill that would have removed language mandating a March 2008 “goal� for withdrawing most American soldiers from Iraq. The Cochran amendment was defeated 48-50.
“The defeat of the Cochran amendment means the Senate will accept the provision authored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to require troop redeployment to begin no more than 120 days after enactment,� said John Isaacs, Executive Director of Council for a Livable World. “The Senate will finally join the majority of the American public in formally endorsing a timetable for withdrawal.�
“It took 15 years of war and over 58,000 American deaths for Congress to come to this point in the Vietnam War; after four years of the Iraq War, this Congress is ready to act.�
Last week, the House passed its version of the Supplemental bill 218-212 with 14 Democrats registering opposition and only two Republicans voting in favor. Council for a Livable World was one of only a handful of organizations to support the House version of the Supplemental bill.
Isaacs continued: “The Senate Republican leadership has decided not to filibuster the Supplemental, which means that President Bush will be forced to issue only his second presidential veto in order to continue his own personal war.�
“The President is alone now, with Democrats, many Republicans, and the American people no longer willing to suffer for his pointless war,� Isaacs concluded.
Council for a Livable World, based in Washington, D.C., works tirelessly to reduce the danger of nuclear weapons and increase national security. Founded by nuclear scientist Leo Szilard in 1962, the Council provides Members of Congress with technical information on weapons of mass destruction and operates a Candidate Fund that helps elect candidates who support sensible national security policies.
