WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives today voted 149 to 141 to cut off funding for the war in Iraq, with a majority of Democrats voting to stop funding and many Republicans opting to vote “present” instead of casting an up-or-down vote on one of the most important issues facing the U.S. today.

USAction Program Director Alan Charney praised the historic vote, which was followed by votes to put significant restrictions on President Bush’s war policy, including a timeline for withdrawal, and to fund the ability of returning veterans and their family members to attend college.

“For the first time ever, the U.S. House has now taken decisive action to bring this war to a close,” Charney said. “It is time for Republicans and for the U.S. Senate to begin serious negotiations about how to bring this war to a close safely, effectively and decisively. And it is time for President Bush, suffering from historically low approval ratings, to understand the degree to which the public has turned against the war and to begin to plan accordingly.”

Charney criticized Republican House members for voting “present” on the first of three votes today. “The Republicans who voted ‘present’ played hide and seek from their constituents and at the same time abrogated their responsibility when it came to a matter of grave national security. Whatever their rationale, that hardly serves the country well and it hardly serves democracy well.”

USAction favored a vote of “no” on a measure to fund the war, and votes of “yes” on the measures calling for restrictions on the war and calling for funding for education benefits for returning veterans and their family members. “A no-yes-yes vote was the only vote consistent with ending the war responsibly and that is exactly what we got,” Charney said. “The position of the anti-war movement was no-yes-yes. We won.”

USAction has called for taking the billions of dollars squandered in Iraq and investing it in America’s future – an investment program that includes paying for critical public investments that help Americans families succeed- including health care, education, infrastructure and jobs, clean energy and services that millions of Americans rely on.

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