[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 149 (Thursday, September 18, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S9013]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, the 2008 Defense authorization bill 
contains a number of provisions that I strongly support. I support a 
pay raise for our troops, elimination of the SBP-DIC offset--which I 
was pleased to vote for--and extra funding for barracks maintenance. I 
also strongly support the provision limiting the outsourcing of private 
security functions in war zones. During this time of incredible strain 
on the women and men serving in the Armed Forces, it is essential that 
we provide them the best quality of life we possibly can.
  However, I voted in opposition to the bill because it contains $70 
billion to continue the war in Iraq but no language mandating that we 
safely redeploy our troops. Seven years after September 11, we remain 
bogged down in a conflict that is undermining our efforts to combat 
those who attacked us. We must redeploy from Iraq so that we can focus 
on the global threat posed by al-Qaida and its affiliates, particularly 
with respect to al-Qaida's safe haven in Pakistan along the Afghanistan 
border.

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