(Washington, DC)—“Today, I cast a vote against the Iraq Supplemental. I just could not hold my nose tight enough to eliminate the nauseating taste for an Iraqi military action that two-thirds of the public opposes.

With no end in sight, I had to vote my conscience. The U.S. Military action, going into its fifth year, is the exact strategy that Osama Bin Laden hoped we would take.

I am sick. Each time our District has lost a soldier on the battlefield in Iraq, I have gone to sit with their grieving mother, wife and children. The families are always so brave in the face of loss that I struggle to imagine. I try to provide what little comfort I can, and tell the families I will try my best to bring our soldiers home safe and soon.

I desperately wanted this bill to send a strong message to the Iraqi Government that our commitment to them was not open ended. It was my hope with this bill to say forcefully, with crystal clear clarity that our soldiers mean the world to us, they have served valiantly, died heroically for the future of Iraq. We have sent our best and brightest and have lost sons and daughters. It is far past time for Iraqis to stand up for themselves.

“The bill the House passed today, and I voted against, did not send a strong message. It will not move us toward ending this conflict. This weekend we honor our veterans on Memorial Day. It is with them in mind, I vote to end this war.

“I struggled all week before I reached my final decision. My vote will not stop the war, but it will stop my participation in something that is $5 trillion and thousands of Iraqi and U.S deaths wrong.”

Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II

Missouri's Fifth District

Concurring with the Senate was a divided question:

1)  Concur in Senate Amendment with House Amendment #1.  To include: funding for Defense Health, Veterans Health, Base Realignment and Closure, Homeland Security, Gulf Coast recovery, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program;  an increase in the minimum wage; and  small business tax cuts.

Congressman Cleaver voted Yes (Passed 348-73)

2)  Concur in Senate Amendment with House Amendment #2.  To include: the Senator Warner language on Iraq, including non-binding benchmarks for success; funding requested by the President for: the Department of Defense, State, and foreign operations, and Gulf Coast recovery.

Congressman Cleaver voted No (Passed 280-142)

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Belton, Raymore and Peculiar, Missouri. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and the Speaker’s Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. Congressman Cleaver also serves as a Regional Whip of the Democratic Caucus and Second Vice-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.