Issue Position: Iraq, Veterans & Foreign Policy
Issue Position
Issue Position: Iraq, Veterans & Foreign Policy
The country was misled into a war in Iraq that never should have been started. Our brave troops have done all that has been asked of them, and we must now to end the war immediately and fund their safe return. Phil spoke out against the War from its inception and co-sponsored a resolution in support of a safe withdrawal from Iraq.
Money Better Spent Here at Home.
The independent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported that our misadventure in Iraq will cost close to $2 trillion by 2018. That money could be better spent here at home. Phil supports ending the funding to continue the war.
Changing our Foreign Policy.
In a broader sense, we need to end the same old, same old approach to foreign policy that led us to disaster in Vietnam and again in Iraq. We need to become part of the international community and not act as if we are superior to the rest of the world.
More for Our Veterans.
We need to do more for our veterans. Our troops have done everything asked of them in the war on terror, but the Bush Administration has not held up its end of the bargain.
Veterans deserve of thanks, but once they return home, we have reduced their benefits or failed to meet their increasing needs. The VA hospitals need more resources. Our troops are coming home with the worst injuries imaginable. The Bush administration has nickled and dimed these brave men and women out of the support they deserve. Phil supports an expanded GI Bill for education to provide economic opportunities for returning veterans. As a Congressman, he will vote to end the war now and bring our troops home with the dignity and honor they deserve.
FISA Revisions Are Unjust.
Phil does not support retroactive immunity for any industry that violates the law and he does not support secret courts because judicial power may be abused like any other.
Phil has been outspoken and critical of recent changes to FISA. Phil is a practicing civil rights attorney, and has questioned how the revisions, which set up profiling, are constitutional. This country has longstanding mandates of probable cause and reasonable suspicion that require attention to individual circumstances
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