Vets groups slam Congress on war-funds delay - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Vets groups slam Congress on war-funds delay

The leaders of the nation’s two largest veterans’ groups are urging Congress to pass a $196 billion war-funding budget before serious damage is done to military morale and readiness.

George Lisicki of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Marty Conatser of the American Legion are both urging Congress to pass a supplemental war budget when lawmakers return to work next week after a two-week break.

They are pushing for approval of the Bush administration’s request for extra money to cover the ongoing cost of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. Pentagon and service officials have warned that if Congress does not approve at least part of the funding by mid-December, the services will have to begin taking steps to initiate large-scale budget cuts that would take effect early next year, including closing of some domestic military bases, laying off 100,000 or more federal workers and other cost-cutting measures.

The Democratic-controlled Congress has been trying to find a way to use the war-funding bill to force a change in strategy that could lead to the withdrawal of some or all U.S. combat troops from Iraq. Democratic leaders have not figured out a way to get the House and Senate to pass such a measure, nor do they have a plan for overriding the almost certain presidential veto of the bill if a withdrawal plan were included.

Before the Thanksgiving congressional break, Democratic leaders expressed skepticism about the Pentagon claims of running out of cash, saying defense officials could temporarily shift money between accounts using the $459 billion peacetime Defense Appropriations Act that was signed into law Nov. 13 to cover war-related expenses until an agreement could be reached.

“The military’s expertise is in planning and execution, not in bluffing Congress,” said Lisicki, a Vietnam veteran from Carteret, N.J., who heads the nation’s largest organization for combat veterans.

“I believe them when they say drastic planning measures are afoot stateside,” he said in a statement. “This is not some game where there are do-overs. The world will remain a very dangerous and unpredictable place regardless of how Iraq plays out, so Congress and the administration need to focus on either winning it or ending it, because our troops and their families are tired of being used as political pawns.”

Conatser, national commander of the nation’s largest veterans’ group, said Congress doesn’t seem to understand the importance of that money. “Exactly what part of ‘emergency’ does Congress not understand?” he said in a statement. “It is time for the political posturing to end, and for Congress to do its duty. We must not play politics with the lives of our fighting men and women. We know our armed forces need assured funding to provide the logistics and training vital to the men and women on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as for those stationed in 130 other countries around the world.”

The push does not seem to be having an immediate impact. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Congress has tried to help.

“The President demands more money to continue his failed war policy, yet he and his enablers in Congress have rejected our proposal for an additional $50 billion provided they work with us to change course in Iraq. He cannot have it both ways,” Reid said in a statement issued Thursday.

“Bush Republicans have indefinitely committed our military to a civil war that has taken a tremendous toll on our troops and our ability to respond to other very real threats around the world,” Reid said. “They are so afraid of being held accountable for their failed war policy that they would rather leave our men and women on the battlefield shorthanded than work with us to adjust this disastrous strategy.”