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H.R. 4939 -- $66 billion more for war

H R 4939 -- Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, and for other purposes; On Agreeing to the Conference Report.

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 4939 on June 13, 2005. It has since become Public Law No: 109-234. FOX News summarized the bill this way:

"The House passed a $94.5 billion bill Tuesday to pay for continuing U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, hurricane relief, bird flu preparations and border security at home. The House-Senate compromise bill contains $66 billion for the two wars, bringing the cost of the three-year-old war in Iraq to about $320 billion. Operations in Afghanistan have now tallied about $89 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service."

The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 351 to 67, 146 Democrats voting with 204 Republicans and one independent. Sixty-seven members of Congress voted "no." It is interesting to note who those "no" votes were. Unfortunately, they do not include Nancy Pelosi. She voted yes, while the majority of her Bay Area colleagues -- Anna Eshoo, Mike Honda, Barbara Lee, Zoe Lofgren, George Miller, Pete Stark, and Lynn Woolsey -- voted no. Other Californians voting no were Lois Capps, Sam Farr, Bob Filner, Hilda Solis, Mike Thompson, Diane Watson, and Henry Waxman. In other parts of the country, the following representatives voted no: Barney Frank, Dennis Kucinich, and Cynthia McKinney, among others.

I would have voted "no" -- it was time to stop the funding of the illegal war in Iraq back in March 2003.

The Woolsey Amendment -- HR 1815

House Resolution 1815 -- The Woolsey Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act:

On May 26, 2005, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-Sonoma) introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006. The amendment called for an exit strategy from Iraq. Nancy Pelosi OPPOSED this amendment. It stated:

San Francisco, August 5 -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi remains steadfast in her refusal to take a position on the current conflict in Israel, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip. By August 4, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that 686 Lebanese had died (615 of them civilians) since July 12 and 159 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since June 28. Sixty-eight Israelis have died in Hezbollah rocket attacks (27 civilians).

Despite repeated calls to her office in Washington, DC, Pelosi has refused to issue a statement. I am calling for an immediate ceasefire, an immediate cessation of arms shipments to the region, and negotiations with all regional stakeholders at the table. I am also calling for funds to rebuild Lebanon.

Nancy Pelosi is the House Minority Leader. The whole world is watching her and waiting for leadership. I believe her refusal to take a position on one of the most devastating humanitarian crises of the day is unconscionable.

On July 19, 2006, Dennis Kucinich introduced the following resolution to the House of Representatives. It had 34 co-sponsors, including Californians Bob Filner, Mike Honda, Barbara Lee, George Miller, Hilda Solis, Pete Stark, Maxine Waters, and Lynn Woolsey. Eight Californians were calling for an end to the violence, while Nancy Pelosi stood with the president in refusing to call on the Israelis to halt the violence in Lebanon and the Gaza strip. Meanwhile people died, ordinary people like you and me.

Over the last few years as our nation went to war with the Iraqi people, as we invaded Fallujah two times, the second time surely destroying it in what can only be called a pyhrric victory, I have wondered, where is Nancy Pelosi's outrage? The people of San Francisco have been outraged. If she is the voice of San Francisco in Washington, DC, then surely she should be expressing our outrage for us.