Washington, DC - Congressman Edolphus Towns, 10th District New York, voted against the Bush Administration's troop escalation and to bring our troops home from Iraq.  H.R. 1591 won passage in the U.S. House of Representatives with a vote of 218 to 212.

"This was an extremely difficult decision for me.  I did not want to send another dollar to Iraq to fund this war however, I had to cast a vote that would be in the best interest of my constituents.  This legislation includes timelines to begin redeployment in bringing our troops home," said Congressman Towns.

"My yes vote on this bill would also provide funding to assist our veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who have suffered mental and physical injuries; disaster recovery funding for FEMA; funding for levee protection in New Orleans; additional funds for the State Children's Health Insurance Program; and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program," added Congressman Towns.

H.R. 1591 assures the American people that there will be some accountability in any spending in Iraq and that our troops will soon begin redeployment and return home to their families.  The cost of this war has become too high with more than 3,000 military casualties and more than 23,000 injuries. 

Additionally, the Iraq war carries a price tag of $532 billion which is more than double the requested amount for Afghanistan.  Accountability of these funds have been a major problem since there is nearly $9 billion of the money spent on Iraq reconstruction that remains unaccounted for due to inefficiencies and bad management.

"The American people sent a clear message last November when they voted in this Democratic Majority and that message was to end the war in Iraq.  I want them to know we heard them loud and clear and have taken the first steps in doing just that," added Congressman Towns.

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