Washington, DC - Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15) made the following comments today after the House of Representatives approved the US Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Health and Iraq Accountability Act. By a vote of 218-212, the House approved the emergency $124 billion supplemental bill which includes an August 31, 2008 deadline for combat troops to leave Iraq.

“Today the new Democratic leadership of the House fulfilled its promise to the American people to provide a new direction in Iraq. I was proud to vote for a real plan that holds the President and the Iraqi government accountable for improving the situation for our soldiers and the Iraqi people. Our men and women in the field will get the supplies and support they need, but at the same time our President, Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki, and the Iraqi government will have the responsibility of finding a way out of this misguided war. I hope the President does not play politics with our military and signs a bill that provides the funding to our troops that they will need in the months to come. Today, we’ve made a statement showing our strong support for our heroic troops, as well as our support for the brave families who want them home.

“This legislation will also bolster our efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan and refocus our efforts there to combat the Taliban and Al Qaeda and find Osama bin Laden. Additionally, funds from this legislation well help to rebuild Lebanon after the devastation of a summer ago. The legislation also contained funding for invaluable domestic programs. It will continue programs to help the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The bill will help meet the funding shortfalls in children’s health care and for the care of our veterans. House Democrats have been able to provide $1.7 billion for improvements to the VA system for the growing number of veterans who now need care and $750 million for the almost 2 million children who were in danger of losing their health care coverage. In all, this is solid legislation that provides our troops, veterans, children, and many of our most distressed Americans with essential resources that we can all be proud of.”

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