Statement by Senator Murray on Senate Passage of the Supplemental Emergency Spending Bill

(Washington, D.C.) – Today U.S. Senator Patty Murray issued the following statement on Senate passage of $94.5 billion in emergency spending:

“Despite my serious concerns with the manner in which we are funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I voted in favor of the Emergency Supplemental bill because we must provide our troops with the resources to carry out their dangerous missions abroad.

“As I said at the beginning of this conflict, I support wholeheartedly our men and women in uniform. I admire their heroism. And I will continue to do all I can to provide them with the resources they need for whatever mission they are asked to carry out on our behalf.

“But by continuing to fund the war in Iraq as an “emergency” spending measure, the Bush Administration and the Republican majority in Congress are not only burdening future generations with debt, but they are failing to level with the American people about the true costs of war.

“This supplemental spending measure has ceded authority for emergency funding to the Executive branch. We have emergencies here in our own backyard, but the Republican leadership simply rolled over and agreed to the President’s arbitrary spending cap at the expense of critical needs here at home.

“This short-sighted agenda is being paid for on the backs of our veterans, our farmers, the transportation and housing needs of the residents of the Gulf Coast, and the security of our ports. Millions of dollars in critical emergency aid to these groups and others was cut out of the Senate version of this spending measure and we were saddled with a budget ceiling that will tie our hands as we seek to help our communities.

“I voted for this bill because our troops need the resources to do their jobs and our Gulf Coast can’t continue to wait for the help it desperately needs to rebuild. Still, I am deeply disappointed at the missed opportunities represented in this bill. We can do better. It’s time to end the political games and fund the priorities of our nation. Our troops, our country and our future depend on it.”