For all of us who are frustrated over the outcome of the FY2007 Iraq supplemental that passed when Congress acted like the co-dependent spouse of an alcoholic and are being told "wait until September", here is something to consider: September will be too late because the FY2008 budget will be done by then. In fact, the House of Representatives voted 397 to 27 on May 17, 2007 to approve H. R. 1585, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, which authorizes defense spending for FY2008, including Iraq. (Select option 3, the version of the bill that passed the House, then scroll down to "Title CC--Authorization of Additional Appropriations for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom", about three-quarters of the way down the page.)
To add insult to injury, the bill wound its way through the sausage factory beginning on March 20, 2007, while the debate to force an end to the Iraqi Occupation by cutting funding by defeating the supplemental was in progress. You can see the rollcall vote for H.R. 1585 here. Also, the DoD budget request is on line. To see the details of what the Pentagon requested and their justification, click here, then follow the links. (Caution: the link leads to many pdf files and lots of "green eyeshade" reading.) Keep in mind the links are to the budget requests from the services and DoD, not necessarily what Congress will approve. It is also important to remember that H.R. 1585 is the defense authorization bill, not the appropriations bill. An Authorization is "permission" to spend money. An Appropriation is the actual allocation of cash. Nevertheless, this isn't good. We should have had a lot more than 27 NO votes.
We need to highlight what has happened and apply pressure to influence what happens next. Let's keep our eyes open for the Appropriations measure in the House and both the Authorization and Appropriations measures in the Senate. From The Republican Plan For 2008 Begins Today, by Thom Hartmann:
It's difficult to watch Democrats play checkers while Republicans play Chess with Iraq. It's particularly difficult on Memorial Day as more Americans and Iraqis die.
Enough is enough. Let's play some chess.
The only way to force change on Iraq, other than impeachment, is to pressure our representatives to restrict funding. Since the FY2007 Iraq supplemental has already been signed into law, we need to look several chess moves ahead. As noted above, the game is already on.
Congress funds the DoD each year, traditionally through three separate appropriations measures. The most important is the Defense Appropriations Bill. (The second appropriations bill funds the Military Construction account and the third bill funds the Department of Energy. I think there are other bills that fund the "intelligence community" and the Veterans Administration, but I am focusing on the DoD right now for obvious reasons.)
The new fiscal year (FY2008) begins October 1, 2007 which means Congress will be working on the appropriations bills over the next four months.
We need to influence our Senators and Representatives NOW, before the appropriations bill is passed and signed into law, and get them to reign in this administration.
For those who are more ambitious, consider digging through the DoD budget materials to see what the DoD proposes and identify what needs to be changed and/or eliminated. I know this is a lot of tedious work, but we could discover items to cut, publicize them, and collectively pressure our representatives beginning now and while the budget is going through the committees. This could also be the start of a long-term project for the people to exert influence over the defense budget and force the military-industrial complex to leave the 20th Century industrial age behind and serve the interests of the 21st Century United States.
In any event, we should not wait for the final floor votes. The four relevant committees and their members are listed below. The three most important are listed first.
Note: It is too late to contact the House Armed Services Committee since the defense authorization bill has passed the House, but it will likely come back to the House later to be reconciled with the Senate version.
You have additional influence if your Senator or Representative is on any of them (members on each are listed by party then in seniority order):
Senate Appropriations Committee
Democrats
Robert C. Byrd (WV), Chairman
Daniel K. Inouye (HI) (Chair, Defense Subcommittee)
Patrick J. Leahy (VT) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Tom Harkin (IA) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Barbara A. Mikulski (MD) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Herb Kohl (WI) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Patty Murray (WA) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Byron Dorgan (ND) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Dianne Feinstein (CA) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Richard J. Durbin (IL) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Tim Johnson (SD)
Mary L. Landrieu (LA)
Jack Reed (RI)
Frank R. Lautenberg (NJ)
Ben Nelson (NE)GOPigs
Thad Cochran (MS), Ranking Member
Ted Stevens (AK) (Chair, Defense Subcommittee)
Areln Specter (PA) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Pete V. Domenici (NM) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Christoper S. Bond (MO) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Mitch McConnell (KY) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Richard C. Shelby (AL) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Judd Gregg (NH) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Robert F. Bennett (UT)
Larry Craig (ID)
Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Sam Brownback (KS)
Wayne Allard (CO)
Lamar Alexander (TN)The committee website is here.
To contact the committee:
Senate Appropriations Committee
The Capitol, S-131
Washington, D.C.20510
(202) 224-7363
House Appropriations Committee
Democrats
David R. Obey (WI), Chair (Defense Subcommittee Ex Officio)
John P. Murtha (PA) (Chair of Defense Subcommittee)
Norman D. Dicks (WA) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Alan B. Mollohan (WV)
Marcy Kaptur (OH) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Peter J. Visclosky (IN) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Nita M. Lowey (NY)
José E. Serrano (NY)
Rosa L. DeLauro (CT)
James P. Moran (VA) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
John W. Olver (MA)
Ed Pastor (AZ)
David E. Price (NC)
Chet Edwards (TX)
Robert E. "Bud" Cramer, Jr. (AL) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Patrick J. Kennedy (RI)
Maurice D. Hinchey (NY)
Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA)
Sam Farr (CA)
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (IL)
Carolyn C. Kilpatrick (MI)
Allen Boyd (FL) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Chaka Fattah (PA)
Steven R. Rothman (NJ) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Sanford Bishop (GA) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Marion Berry (AR)
Barbara Lee (CA)
Tom Udall (NM)
Adam Schiff (CA)
Michael Honda (CA)
Betty McCollum (MN)
Steve Israel (NY)
Tim Ryan (OH)
C.A "Dutch" Ruppersberger (MD)
Ben Chandler (KY)
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL)
Ciro Rodriguez (TX)GOPigs
Jerry Lewis (CA), Ranking Member (Defense Subcommittee Ex Officio)
C.W. Bill Young (FL) (Ranking Member, Defense Subcommittee)
Ralph Regula (OH)
Harold Rogers (KY)
Frank R. Wolf (VA)
James T. Walsh (NY)
David L. Hobson (OH) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Joe Knollenberg (MI)
Jack Kingston (GA) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Rodney P. Frelinghuysen (NJ) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Roger F. Wicker (MI) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Todd Tiahrt (KS) (Serves on Defense Subcommittee)
Zach Wamp (TN)
Tom Latham (IA)
Robert B.Aderholt (AL)
Jo Ann Emerson (MO)
Kay Granger (TX)
John E. Peterson (PA)
Virgil H. Goode, Jr. (VA)
John T. Doolittle (CA)
Ray LaHood (IL)
Dave Weldon (FL)
Michael K. Simpson (ID)
John Abney Culberson (TX)
Mark Steven Kirk (IL)
Ander Crenshaw (FL)
Dennis R. Rehberg (MT)
John Carter (TX)
Rodney Alexander (LA)The committee website is here.
To contact the committee:
House Appropriations Committee
H-218 U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-2771
Senate Armed Services Comnmittee
Democrats and Independents
Carl Levin (MI), Chairman
Edward M. Kennedy (MA)
Robert C. Byrd (WV)
Joseph I. Lieberman (I-CT)
Jack Reed (RI)
Daniel K. Akaka (HI)
Bill Nelson (FL)
E. Benjamin Nelson (NE)
Evan Bayh (IN)
Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY)
Mark L. Pryor (AR)
Jim Webb (VA)
Claire McCaskill (MO)GOPigs
John McCain (AZ), Ranking Member
John W. Warner (VA)
James M. Inhofe (OK)
Jeff Sessions (AL)
Susan M. Collins (ME)
John Ensign (NV)
Saxby Chambliss (GA)
Lindsey O. Graham (SC)
Elizabeth Dole (NC)
John Cornyn (TX)
John Thune (SD)
Mel Martinez (FL)The committee website is here.
Click here for subcommittees and their membership.To contact the committee:
228 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-3871
House Armed Services Committee
Democrats
Ike Skelton (MO), Chairman
John Spratt, (SC)
Solomon P. Ortiz (TX)
Gene Taylor (MS)
Neil Abercrombie (HI)
Marty Meehan (MA)
Silvestre Reyes (TX)
Vic Snyder (AR)
Adam Smith (WA)
Loretta Sanchez (CA)
Mike McIntyre (NC)
Ellen O. Tauscher (CA)
Robert A. Brady (PA)M
Robert Andrews (NJ)
Susan A. Davis (CA)
Rick Larsen (WA)
Jim Cooper (TN)
Jim Marshall (GA)
Madeleine Z. Bordallo (Guam)
Mark Udall (CO)
Dan Boren (OK)
Brad Ellsworth (IN)
Nancy Boyda (KS)
Patrick Murphy (PA
Hank Johnson (GA)
Carol Shea-Porter (NH)
Joe Courtney (CT)
David Loebsack (IA)
Kirsten Gillibrand (NY)
Joe Sestak (DA)
Gabrielle Giffords (AZ)
Elijah Cummings (MD)
Kendrick Meek (FL)
Kathy Castor (FL)GOPigs
Duncan Hunter (CA), Ranking Member
Jim Saxton (NJ)
John M. McHugh (NY)
Terry Everett (AL)
Roscoe G. Bartlett (MD)
Buck McKeon (CA)
Mac Thornberry (TX)
Walter B. Jones (NC)
Robin Hayes (NC)
Ken Calvert (CA)
Jo Ann Davis (VA)
W. Todd Akin (MO)
J. Randy Forbes (VA)
Jeff Miller (FL)
Joe Wilson (SC)
Frank A. LoBiondo (NJ)
Tom Cole (OK)
Rob Bishop (UT)
Michael Turner (OH)
John Kline (MN)
Candice S. Miller (MI)
Phil Gingrey (GA)
Mike Rogers (AL)
Trent Franks (AZ)
Thelma Drake (VA)
Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA)
Michael Conaway (TX)
Geoff Davis (KY)The committee website is here.
Click here for subcommittee membership.
To contact the committee:
2120 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4151
Fax: (202) 225-9077
The Democrats who vote with us deserve our support. Those who vote otherwise deserve a primary challenge. And all GOPigs deserve to be defeated in November, 2008.
The DoD budget is where strategy, policy, plans, programs, force structure (equipment), readiness, and modernization -- each of which is a topic in its own right -- all come together and become real. Nothing happens inside the DoD unless Congress authorizes and appropriates dollars to be spent. If we can curtail Pentagon spending on the Iraqi Occupation, as a majority of the people want, we can bring the Mideast nightmare to an end. And if we can influence the overall DoD budget, we can accomplish an awful lot.
Additional information:
DoD budget
For background on DoD organization, see the first chapter of this publication.
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