[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 19702-19703]
[From the U.S. 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--

[[Page 19703]]

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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