Casey Votes for New Course in Iraq

WASHINGTON, DC-U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today voted with a majority of the Senate to pass a supplemental spending bill that provides our troops and veterans with needed funding and calls for transitioning the mission in Iraq.

Senator Casey released the statement below. He will expand on these remarks on the Senate floor this afternoon around 2:15pm in a continued effort to convince President Bush to listen to the Congress and to the American people:

"In casting our votes on this important measure, all of us are asking a fundamental question: do we support a change in course in Iraq or do we want more of the same?

"The supplemental bill on the floor today offers a path away from the current quagmire in Iraq - a state of bloodshed and chaos which is straining the U.S. Army, diverting our attention from a resurgent Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and elsewhere, and sacrificing too many of our finest men and women.

"More important, the bill establishes a change in course for our policy in Iraq by transitioning the mission of American troops away from involvement in a growing civil war to a more targeted mission - one focused on counter-terrorism, training and equipping Iraqi forces, and force protection for American troops."