Markey Votes to Require Timeline for US Troops to Leave Iraq

Press Release

MARKEY VOTES TO REQUIRE TIMELINE FOR U.S. TROOPS TO LEAVE IRAQ

Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the Homeland Security Committee, voted to require a timeline for U.S. troops to leave Iraq. With today's passage by a vote of 218 to 212, with one member voting "present," of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health and Iraq Accountability Act, the Democratic Congress has for the first time applied strict restrictions and limitations on the war in Iraq. The bill requires the President to certify to the Congress that certain tough benchmarks of progress have been met by the Iraqi government and U.S. forces; if the benchmarks have not been met U.S. troops must begin an immediate withdrawal. Even if the benchmarks have been met, the bill requires a U.S. withdrawal to begin no later than March 1, 2008 and finish no later than August 31, 2008.

The bill also includes language drafted by Rep. Markey barring the use of funds appropriated by the bill to fund "extraordinary renditions." President Bush has used renditions to transfer detainees for interrogation or other purposes to countries known for the use of torture.

Rep. Markey said, "It is long past time to end the disastrous war in Iraq, and the timeline for U.S. withdrawal passed by the House finally puts us on the path to bringing our troops home. Democrats want the troops home yesterday, but we have to force the hand of a intransigent President who refuses to admit that the quagmire of his war is drowning American national security and shattering the stability of the Middle East."

"This bill also puts the President on notice that the Congress will not allow funding for his policy of outsourcing torture, which he calls "extraordinary rendition." My language in this bill bars funding for the outsourcing of torture, and I look forward to passing my comprehensive legislation on rendition, the Torture Outsourcing Prevention Act, which will end this heinous practice outright," Rep. Markey concluded.

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