Dear Friends,

This week, Congress passed by a vote of 226-202 the conference report on the $105.9 billion Fiscal Year 2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. I voted against the conference report on the final bill.

I strongly support our troops and their missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world. That is why I voted for the original version of the bill, H.R. 2346, which provided emergency funding for our troops. I was disappointed that Speaker Pelosi allowed at the last minute unrelated funding to be added to the Supplemental Appropriations bill, which made it impossible to support.

Specifically, $5 billion in funding for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was air-dropped into the bill. The $5 billion will be used to secure a $108 billion in global loans. The IMF funding is almost $30 billion more than what is provided in the final bill for our troops. I am concerned that there is nothing to prevent IMF loans from going to foreign governments that are less than friendly to the United States, such as Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela.

Fortunately, the Supplemental Conference Report does not include the $80 million requested by the Administration to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. However, there is no language in the bill to prohibit the Administration from cobbling together $80 million in existing funds to proceed with its plans. To date, the Administration has not provided Congress with a clear plan of how the facility will close down or what will ultimately be done with the detainees. On February 13, 2009, I introduced legislation (H.R. 1069) which would require the President to provide Congress with a report of the security ramifications of closing Guantanamo Bay 90 days before any action to move detainees. Until a fully-formed plan is in place, we should not be moving detainees, or worse, releasing them without an assessment of risk.

Finally, I was pleased that the bill provides for the purchase of eight additional C-17 Globemaster aircraft. The C-17 carries much more cargo than the short range C-130 Hercules, and can deliver troops and equipment directly to the battle unlike the aging C-5 Galaxy. The C-17 aircraft plays a central role both in the ongoing Global War on Terror and in humanitarian relief missions around the world. They will be a welcome addition to the our fleet of C-17s which include eight C-17’s attached to March Air Reserve Base’s 452nd Air Mobility Wing and will accelerate efforts to ensure that America’s airlift needs are met in the coming years.

Please share your thoughts on the Supplemental Appropriations bill through the survey on the left-hand side of this e-newsletter.

Sincerely,

KEN CALVERT
Member of Congress