U.S. Senator Susan Collins has joined a bipartisan group in introducing legislation that would require a report on the status of Iraq redeployment planning from the Administration. The bill requires the Department of Defense to provide its report within 60 days to congressional defense committees, with updated reports every 90 days thereafter. The bill was authored by Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO), Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and in addition to Senator Collins, cosponsors include Senators Mark Pryor (D-AR), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), George Voinovich (R-OH), Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), and Jim Webb (D-VA).
The bill would require the Secretary of Defense to provide a plan to Congress on troop missions and levels in Iraq, including a drawdown to a more limited mission that the Secretary would specify. The bill will ensure more Congressional oversight of America’s strategy in Iraq and it represents a bipartisan approach toward greater accountability over the Pentagon’s next steps.
“The vitriolic partisan debate in Washington has not been conducive to finding a solution that will change the course in Iraq,” said Senator Collins. “I have long maintained that our country needs a new direction in Iraq that sets the stage for a significant but responsible drawdown of our combat troops and that encourages a lasting political solution to the sectarian violence engulfing Baghdad. I am pleased to join this bipartisan group of my colleagues on this legislation, and it is my hope that this bill will continue to gain bipartisan support.”
The legislation also:
· Recognizes that the U.S. Armed Forces and U.S. civilians have worked valiantly, and that it is time for Iraq to manage its own future;
· Notes that when Congress authorized military force in 2002, it was concerned about an Iraqi government that has since been removed from power;
· States that the new, freely-elected Iraqi government poses no threat to the United States;
· Gives the Secretary of Defense 60 days to provide a report on the status of planning for the redeployment of the Armed Forces from Iraq;
· Asks the Secretary to specify the possible timetable for the redeployment of U.S. troops not needed for the new, more limited mission;
· Does not set any specific deadlines for troop movements.
“We must all work together to find a new way forward in Iraq and this bill is an important first step,” said Senator Salazar. “This is a substantive and bipartisan effort to work together to bring a responsible and timely redeployment of our troops. The men and women that are fighting this war in our name deserve no less.”
“Both this bill and our Iraq Study Group legislation ask the administration for a plan on how to shift gears and get our troops out of the combat business and into the support, training, and equipping business,” said Senator Alexander. “Both bills also allow our government to speak with one voice going forward in Iraq – which our troops deserve and the enemy needs to hear.”
Should the Senate consider and pass this legislation without making further changes, it would proceed to the White House for the President’s signature or veto.
The bill is identical to bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Representatives John Tanner (D-TN), Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), and Phil English, (R-PA) that passed the House this week in a 377 to 46 vote.
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