The Democrats actually had a few wins yesterday and Senator Kennedy was instrumental in making them happen.
Washington, D.C. Yesterday, House and Senate negotiators struck a deal on the $82 billion Iraq supplemental bill and included three of Senator Edward M. Kennedy's measures. Senator Kennedy led the fight in the United States Senate to secure millions of additional dollars for lifesaving humvee armor and held the President accountable on progress being made to train the Iraqi security forces and the impact on our troop levels. On immigration, Senator Kennedy and Mikulski fought to raise the cap on seasonal workers for small businesses. All three measures were included in the final conference report.
The Kennedy -- Bayh humvee amendment will give an additional 150 million dollars on top of the supplemental spending bill for the war in Iraq to ensure that humvee production remains at its maximum level through the fiscal year. Kennedy's troop level amendment requires the Secretary of Defense to provide Congress with an updated assessment of the number of troops we will need in Iraq through the end of 2006 and report every three months on Iraqi security forces. The first report must be provided 60 days after the President signs the bill into law.
The immigration measure, sponsored by Senators Kennedy and Mikulski, will enable an average of 30,000 seasonal workers to continue to support the small businesses that are the backbone of tourism in Massachusetts and states across the country.
http://kennedy.senate.gov/index_low.html
This is absolutely outstanding. I am thrilled to find Kennedy was able to accomplish getting armor for the Humvees. We all know it should even be in Iraq. But if we are going to be there, let's actually give our troops what they need to survive this ridiculous war.
"A quarter of all American deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan have been in unarmored vehicles." Kennedy said. "That means more than 400 brave Americans have died because they were sent into the line of fire unprotected. And thousands more have been injured or disabled for life."
http://www.democraticmajority.com/content/71/kennedy-wins-fight-to-secure-funding-for-lifesaving-hum
vee-armor
They have consistently underestimated the need for this kind of protection for our troops. Our soldiers are being needlessly killed. I am very proud of Kennedy and Bayh for their dedication to helping our troops.
And Kennedy has gotten them to insist that the Secretary of Defense must report troop level assessment to congress on a regular basis. That's right, Rummy. You can't just do whatever you want without telling anyone. Ha, ha. Some Americans actually care that this war is happening and want our troops home. We are also concerned that you have stretched our troops so thin that we cannot adequately defend our nation.