Let’s
make a distinction here.
In the matter of the emergency supplemental
“county payments” bill now before Congress, a line needs to be drawn.
The county payments issue (See related
article:
County payments trapped in political showdown)
has been hijacked by politics, and the time has come to stop it.
Harming vital programs on the home front will
not help the cause of reducing military presence in Iraq, gaining a
timeline for withdrawal, or the end of the war.
Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., is right in stating
that the economic stability of more than 700 counties in 39 states is
at risk in the face of this budgetary maneuver by opponents of the
war.
The federal government has a role and
responsibility to sustain this funding; the question would have come
up whether or not the United States had ever gone into Iraq. Tying the
funds to a withdrawal only serves to complicate both the war and the
county funding debates.
At a time when more and more communities are
buffeted by the personal impacts of war — from deployments to the
deaths of soldiers — the county funding helps provide a measure of
stability for people throughout the country.
With the House going into recess for two weeks
on Friday, the time is ripe for the U.S. Democratic leadership to
change its tune and disconnect Iraq policy for the very real needs of
citizens who rely on federally supported county programs.
