Ellison, Walz Support Iraq Supplemental Bill

Fifth District Congressman Keith Ellison announced today that he would support the Iraq war supplemental bill coming up for a vote on the House floor, and followed through later in the day.

Ellison, D-Minneapolis, had previously kept his plans to himself, but issued impassioned words on the bill’s behalf.

It is painful and difficult to do anything other than to cast a no vote for any further funding of this war. But I will not strengthen this President’s position by voting against imperfect timelines. Make no mistake about it…this President wants this vote on timelines to fail.

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But we must not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

The bill’s success was in question because of concerns from its left and right. Conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats are split on the bill’s merits, and members of the more liberal Progressive Caucus have been concerned that it constitutes a vote for continuation of the war. However, in recent days,  that opposition has waned for many of the reasons Ellison cited today.

U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, a Democrat from Minnesota’s 1st District, has been a vocal supporter of the bill, saying “[t]his legislation requires the president to meet Department of Defense troop readiness standards and it requires the Iraqi government to meet the benchmarks set for it in a timely manner.  Additionally, this bill rectifies the Bush administration’s lack of planning by adding badly needed funding to veterans’ health care and military health care facilities.”

Republican Reps. Michele Bachmann, John Kline, and Jim Ramstad of the 6th, 2nd and 3rd Districts respectively, all voted against the measure, which passed 218-212.

Read the full text of Ellison’s release after the break.

Related: House Approves Iraq War Appropriations, Withdrawal Bill“This vote, plain and simple, comes down to ending the war – or not. I believe this bill is a vote to end this war. It is not the bill I would have written. From the beginning of my campaign, my position was out of Iraq – now. But let us not confuse our goals with our methods. This is the first piece of legislation that actually puts timetables on ending this senseless involvement in Iraq. It is the best vehicle we have before us to end the war.

Voting for benchmarks and deadlines is a vote to end the war. Voting against the deadlines is a vote to support war without end. The startling irony is that the people who hate the war the most could be forced into a coalition that will strengthen President George Bush’s hand to continue the war unabated.

It is painful and difficult to do anything other than to cast a no vote for any further funding of this war. But I will not strengthen this President’s position by voting against imperfect timelines. Make no mistake about it…this President wants this vote on timelines to fail.

I know with each month that this civil war deepens, we lose another 100 young American men and women; 100 Iraqi civilians die every day, and we spend another $8 billion dollars a month in Iraq that is sorely needed here at home. This loss of life is tragic and unacceptable.

But we must not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

The alternative to this proposal is more of the same – with no leverage whatsoever on the President’s disastrous war. To me, that is the larger issue: allowing this President’s policies to go unchecked one single day more. I’m simply not willing to ask any more American families to jeopardize the safety, well-being and future of their sons or daughters ad-infinitum for an ill-conceived and ineptly executed war that had nothing to do with 9/11 or the war on terrorism.

I also see this bill as a beginning – one I intend to firmly hold the Democratic Leadership and the President to. For many of my colleagues, the Democratic timetable for troop withdrawal is the first positive sign in four years since the Iraq War began. They are right. For me, and the Minnesotans I represent, troop withdrawal is not some position paper; it is linked to time – and time is measured in lives. My conscience tells me the time is now – and this legislation is the best vehicle we have before us to end this debacle.”