Today, the US House of Representatives voted on passage of HR 1591, titled the "U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act, 2007". Kind of lengthy, eh? It describes itself simply as a bill "Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007, and for other purposes."

However, most media outlets will describe it like this:

The House of Representatives on Friday voted 218-212 to approve an emergency $124 billion supplemental war spending bill that includes a firm deadline -- August 31, 2008 -- for combat troops to leave Iraq.

That's the key bit right there. There's been plenty of discussion of whether the bill is tough enough, or whether it's too tough, or any number of other viewpoints, but the significance is this: HR 1591 is the first spending bill for the war in Iraq that calls for an exit strategy and sets a target date.

The bill passed, 218-212. Only two Republicans voted with the Democratic majority, while 14 Democrats chose to oppose the bill.

Now, although Congressman Walberg claims most of Iraq is as safe as America's major cities, he doesn't seem to think it's safe enough to bring the troops home in a year and a half. He voted No, as did the rest of Michigan's Republican representatives.

Labels: Iraq, Issues, Tim Walberg, Walberg Voting Record