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Fallon Says Boswell Mistaken on Iraq Funding Votes
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Des Moines (March 8,
2008) – Today, Ed Fallon questioned the
accuracy of Congressman Boswell’s remarks to a
group of high school students on Friday, March
7th.
The 22 local students went to Boswell’s
office to ask him to stop funding the Iraq War
and to withdraw the troops. According to the Des
Moines Register article [Students hold sit-in, urge Boswell to
support U.S. troop withdrawal, March 8th,
2008], “when high school students
recently occupied his Des Moines office,
Boswell said, ‘I advocate for an orderly
plan. In the last year or so, I’ve voted five
or six times for that.’” When a student
questioned Boswell’s vote for H.R. 2206
(05/10/07), Boswell “assured the group the
bills he voted for this year were for
withdrawal of troops”. Fallon says,
“Unfortunately, Congressman Boswell is
mistaken, and the facts say something quite
different.” ·
While Boswell did vote for
a bill with timetables, the President vetoed it
(H.R. 1591 on 03/23/07). Then two months later,
on the next funding bill calling for a
timetable for partial withdrawal (H.R. 2237),
Boswell sided with Bush and voted against
it, even though House Democrats supported
the bill 169-59 (05/10/07). ·
Boswell also voted in
favor of H.R. 2206, which continued funding
without a timetable for troop withdrawal
(05/10/07). ·
Again in June, Boswell
voted for H.R. 2764, which also continued
funding without a timetable for
withdrawal (06/22/07). Fallon says, “The truth
is, Congressman Boswell has consistently
supported President Bush, from his vote in
October of 2002 in favor of the original
resolution to authorize the Iraq War through
November of 2007. In fact, most of Boswell’s
Democratic colleagues in the House voted
against the authorization to go to war (House
Democrats voted against the war resolution
126-81). The only exception was Boswell’s vote
on March 23rd, 2007. When
Boswell says he voted to end the war five or
six times in the last year or so, I have no
idea what he’s referring to,” said Fallon. Fallon notes that in
November 2007, Boswell did vote for a funding
bill that contained language for a partial
withdrawal (H.R. 4156 on 11/14/08). Fallon
says, “This vote came after he learned that I
was planning on running against him. While I’m
pleased to see him move in the right direction,
this vote seems motivated more by political
expediency than by a sincere change of heart.
The truth is Boswell has repeatedly sided with
Bush and House Republicans against the majority
of his fellow Democrats and the clear desire of
the American people to end the Iraq War. “ ###