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01/12/2007 @ 12:04am
Murtha's Plan to Stop Bush
by The Nation
At a hearing on Iraq today convened by the Congressional Progressive
Caucus, Congressman Jack Murtha offered a preview of how he plans to
rein in the Bush Administration, from the perch of his chairmanship
of the Defense Subcommittee on the House Appropriations Committee.
Murtha announced his intention to use the power of the purse try and
close US prisons at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, eliminate the
signing statements President Bush uses to secretly expand executive
power and restrict the building of permanent bases in Iraq.
And starting February 17, Murtha will begin holding "extensive
hearings" to block an escalation of the war in Iraq and ultimately
redeploy US troops out of the conflict. Murtha predicts that a non-
binding resolution criticizing Bush's expansion of the war would pass
the Congress by a two to one vote. But he believes that only money,
not words, will get the President's attention.
When he receives the Bush Administration's $100 billion supplemental
spending request for Iraq on February 5, Murtha says "they'll have to
justify every cent they want." He'll insist that no money be
allocated for an escalation unless the military can meet normal
readiness levels. "We should not spend money to send people overseas
unless they replenish the strategic reserve," Murtha says. He expects
to have one hundred and twenty days to act before the Administration
deploys the second phase of additional troops to Iraq. "If he wants
to veto the bill," Murtha says of Bush, "he won't have any money."
Asked whether Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi supports his plans,
Murtha responded: "Absolutely."
Allies of the President claim that the war effort should not be
"micromanaged." But Murtha says that's exactly what is necessary as
the US reaches its fourth year in Iraq. "The Defense Department needs
to be micromanaged," he says. "They have been out of control."
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