Charlie Brown on John Doolittle Hating Our Troops

Just passing along an email I got from the Brown campaign. The Lt. Col. is not a happy camper:

Last week, the House Appropriations Committee passed the FY’07 Emergency Supplemental Spending Bill (H.R. 1591), which would fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, improved veterans healthcare services and military readiness, repairs to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and restore a crucial stream of funding to rural schools across the Western United States.

Rep. John Doolittle voted against the measure, which ties future U.S. aid to Iraq to a series of benchmarks laid out in a January 10th speech by President Bush. He also voted to strike language that would restrict the deployment of U.S. troops who are wounded, not properly equipped, or un-trained---offered as an amendment by the Committee’s ranking minority member, and Doolittle’s fellow DOJ corruption probe target Rep. Jerry Lewis.

The vote comes amidst mounting sectarian violence in Iraq , a resurgent Al Qaeda organization in Afghanistan , recent government reports describing the U.S. military at its lowest state of readiness since Vietnam , a VA system that is being overwhelmed by the influx of 1.6 million new veterans, and revelations of substandard conditions at military health facilities serving wounded combat troops.

“Time and again, John Doolittle votes to send young people into combat while denying them the tools they need to succeed in their mission and the quality aftercare they’ve been promised, commented Lt. Col. Charlie Brown. ”Leaving those who defend America exposed to preventable death, and our military unprepared to deal with future security threats is beyond irresponsible---it’s completely indefensible.”

The Supplemental bill would also restore $400 million through the Forest Service’s Secure Rural Schools Program, which provides rural counties a portion of the revenue generated by timber and land sales in national forests---funding up to 1/3 or more of public school operating budgets, as well as conservation and infrastructure projects in communities across the Western states, and California’s 4th Congressional District in particular.

When the current program expired in September of last year, the Bush Administration proposed a five year reauthorization. Congress failed to act in 2006.

“By letting the GOP controlled Congress fail to pass the crucial measure last year and voting against it again this year, Doolittle has left many of his constituents bracing for layoffs, teacher shortages, classroom overcrowding, and other problems,” Brown added. “He may have promised a new course, but he’s delivering the same old pattern of neglect and misguided priorities."

What else is there to say?