[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 15 (Monday, April 16, 2007)]
[Pages 429-430]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

April 7, 2007

    Good morning. This week, people around the world celebrate Passover 
and Easter. These holy days remind us of the presence of a loving God 
who delivers His people from oppression and offers a love more powerful 
than death. We take joy in spending this special time with family and 
friends, and we give thanks for the many blessings in our lives.
    One of our greatest blessings as Americans is that we have brave 
citizens who step forward to defend us. Every man or woman who wears our 
Nation's uniform is a volunteer, a patriot who has made the noble 
decision to serve a cause larger than self. This weekend, many of our 
service men and women are celebrating the holidays far from home. They 
are separated from their families by great distances, but they are 
always close in our thoughts. And this Passover and Easter, I ask you to 
keep them in your prayers.
    Our men and women in uniform deserve the gratitude of every 
American. And from their elected leaders, they deserve something more: 
the funds, resources, and equipment they need to do their jobs.
    Sixty-one days have passed since I sent Congress an emergency war 
spending bill to provide the funds our troops urgently need. But instead 
of approving that vital funding, Democrats in Congress have spent the 
past 61 days working to pass legislation that would substitute the 
judgment of politicians in Washington for the judgment of our generals 
in the field.
    In both the House and Senate, Democratic majorities have passed 
bills that would impose restrictions on our military commanders, set an 
arbitrary date for withdrawal from Iraq, and fund domestic spending that 
has nothing to do with the war. The Democrats who passed these bills 
know that I will veto either version if it reaches my desk, and they 
know my veto will be sustained. Yet they continue to pursue the 
legislation. And now the process is on hold for 2 weeks, until the full 
Congress returns to session.
    I recognize that Democrats are trying to show their current 
opposition to the war in Iraq. They see the emergency war spending bill 
as a chance to make that statement. Yet for our men and women in 
uniform, this emergency war spending bill is not a political statement; 
it is a source of critical funding that has a direct impact on their 
daily lives.
    When Congress does not fund our troops on the frontlines, our 
military is forced to make cuts in other areas to cover the shortfall. 
Military leaders have warned Congress about this problem. The Chairman 
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Pete Pace, recently testified that 
if Congress fails to pass a bill I can sign by mid-April, the Army will 
be forced to consider cutting back on training, equipment repair, and 
quality of life initiatives for our Guard and Reserve forces. In a 
letter to Congress, Army Chief of Staff Pete Schoomaker put it this way: 
``Without approval of the supplemental funds in April, we will be forced 
to take increasingly draconian measures, which will impact Army 
readiness and impose hardships on our soldiers and their families.''
    If Congress fails to pass a bill I can sign by mid-May, the problems 
grow even more acute. The Army will be forced to consider slowing or 
even freezing funding for depots where pivotal equipment is repaired, 
delaying or curtailing the training of some active duty forces, and 
delaying the formation of new brigade combat teams. The bottom line is 
that Congress's failure to fund our troops will mean that some of our 
military families could wait longer for their loved ones to return from 
the frontlines, and others could see their loved ones headed back to war 
sooner than they need to. That is unacceptable to me, and I believe it 
is unacceptable to the American people.

[[Page 430]]

    The full Congress will not be back from spring vacation until the 
week of April 16th. That means the soonest the House and Senate could 
get a bill to my desk will be sometime late this month, after the 
adverse consequences for our troops and their families have already 
begun. For our troops, the clock is ticking. If the Democrats continue 
to insist on making a political statement, they should send me their 
bill as soon as possible. I will veto it, and then Congress can go to 
work on a good bill that gives our troops the funds they need, without 
strings and without further delay.
    We have our differences in Washington, DC, but our troops should not 
be caught in the middle. All who serve in elected office have a solemn 
responsibility to provide for our men and women in uniform. We need to 
put partisan politics aside and do our duty to those who defend us.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 8:20 a.m. on April 6 at the Bush Ranch 
in Crawford, TX, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on April 7. The transcript 
was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on April 6 but 
was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office of the Press 
Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this address.