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Jordan supports defense, fights debt |
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Thursday, 17 December 2009 |
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By MATT NICHOLS
Staff Writer
An area Congressman took time Wednesday to voice his opinion on the three key issues which are facing Congressional members before their holiday break.
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana said he approved a massive defense bill for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, but called into question two other bills which would aid the jobless and allow the government to increase the national debt.
In a teleconference Wednesday morning, Jordan told the media he approved of the defense bill which would help pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“This is a very important piece of legislation, making sure men and women in uniform have what they need to get the job done in securing our country,” Jordan said hours before the House vote. “There were several bad items taken out of the legislation that we were concerned about. It’s a much better piece of legislation.”
That $636 billion Pentagon bill included $128 billion to pay for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan but leaves for later negotiations on how to pay for the 30,000 additional troops recently ordered to Afghanistan by President Barack Obama. It included a 3.4 percent pay increase for service members.
The measure passed 395-34 Wednesday afternoon with almost no debate. Defense measures generally enjoy wide bipartisan support, although this year Republicans objected to using the legislation as the base bill to which other less popular measures were attached.
Congress also narrowly passed legislation which would increase the federal debt limit and allow the government to barrow $290 billion to finance its operations for six more months.
The 218-214 vote sends the must-pass bill to the Senate, which is expected to approve it as its last act before adjourning for the year. The alternative would be a market-rattling, first-ever default on U.S. obligations.
Democrats had hoped to pass a far larger increase of almost $2 trillion to avoid another vote before next year’s midterm elections — and to wrap the increase into the popular defense appropriations bill to give some political cover.
Before Congress convened for the vote, Jordan labeled the entire concept as “terrible.”
“The debt right now is higher than the first two months of last year and last year’s deficit was the highest in American history,” Jordan said, noting the deficit is projected to be at $20 trillion within nine years. “Obviously this is the wrong approach.”
Jordan said Congress should concentrate on reducing spending rather than increasing the nation’s debt ceiling.
The final order of business for the House was its vote on a $154 billion jobs bill. Not a single Republican voted for the plan, which passed on a 217-212 vote after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., worked the floor for an hour before it passed.
The measure now goes to the Senate, which won’t consider the measure until next year and which generally has a smaller appetite for such deficit-financed economic stimulus measures.
Jordan said the bill was nothing more than a second stimulus and more big government spending.
“I’ve said many times over the last year and a half that if big government spending was going to get us out of our tough economic times, we would have been out of this mess a long time ago,” Jordan said. “This is largely what we see time and time again from this administration.”
The U.S. Congressman also commented on the Obama administration’s decision to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. Jordan said he applauded the decision to go along with Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s request for troops.
But Jordan said he believed making a withdrawal plan public would hinder future peace in the war-torn nation.
“I’ve said many times that timelines and deadlines are good as long as they’re not public,” Jordan said. “To say that in July 2011 we’re going to start pulling out — the enemy looks at that.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 December 2009 )
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