Here's the text of Jim Himes' press release telling the truth about Shays' latest flip-flop on Iraq:
Stamford, CT -- Democratic Congressional candidate Jim Himes issued the following statement today in response to Chris Shays' vote against HR 2956, the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act, which requires the Secretary of Defense to begin the redeployment of troops from Iraq within 120 days, limiting our presence in Iraq by April 1, 2008.
"Chris Shays' vote today is a betrayal of the trust of the people of the 4th Congressional District. Rep. Shays promised voters last year that he would support a timeline for troop withdrawal from Iraq, but since the election, not only has he failed to support timelines for ending the war, he has enthusiastically supported President Bush's escalation of the war.
"Since the so-called "surge" supported by Shays began earlier this year, nearly 600 more American troops have been killed in Iraq. While Chris Shays continues to support spending $329 million dollars a day in Iraq with no end in sight, he is neglecting the real needs of the people of the 4th Congressional District.
"Today, Rep. Shays called again for a new Iraq Study Group report, while disregarding the most important recommendation of the Iraq Study Group: to end major combat operations in Iraq by spring 2008. Rep. Shays' vote today not only goes against ISG recommendations, it is in direct violation of his campaign promise to the people of the 4th District. After 5 years of Chris Shays steadfastly supporting Bush's failed Iraq policy, it's time for a change. "
ABOUT JIM
Jim Himes is not a career politician. He is a businessman, a leader of a major national non-profit, and a leader in his community. His introduction to service came early?his father spent a career at the Ford Foundation and at UNICEF. His mother was a single, working mom who raised Jim and his two sisters.
Jim has served as an Emergency Medical Technician, an Elder in his church, an elected finance board member, and as a board member of numerous community non-profits. His experience living in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East has given Jim an important sense of how the U.S. relates to the rest of the world. Most importantly, Jim is father to two young girls who will inherit the nation and world we leave them.
Jim was born in Lima, Peru in 1966. He spent the first ten years of his life in Peru and Colombia and became fluent in Spanish. His mother brought Jim and his two sisters back to the United States in time for the bicentennial celebrations of 1976. Jim attended and graduated from public schools and was admitted to Harvard College in 1984.
At Harvard, Jim worked closely with the Pulitzer-prize winning author Dr. Robert Coles on his book The Spiritual Life of Children, a job which took him to Nicaragua for a summer of research. Upon graduating, Jim was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oxford University where he continued his studies of Latin America and wrote his dissertation on El Salvador.
In 1990 Jim's interest in business led him to the New York area and a job at Goldman, Sachs & Co., as a banker in Latin America and New York. He was later promoted to Vice President. In 2003, a desire to explore business-oriented solutions to urban poverty led Jim to the Enterprise Foundation, where he researched financial services available to low-income people. In 2004, Jim was asked to run Enterprise's New York metro operations, which have resulted in the construction of thousands of units of affordable housing in the New York region each year. In 2007, Jim was made a Vice President of Enterprise.
Jim's interest in economic development issues led to his appointment as a Commissioner of the Greenwich Housing Authority in 2002. He was chairman of the board from 2004-2006 and led a revitalization of the agency. He has also served as a board member of Aspira of Connecticut in Bridgeport, as an advisory board member of the Bridgeport-based Family Assets, LLC, and as a Member of Session of the First Presbyterian Church of Greenwich.
He is currently a board member of the Fairfield County Community Foundation and an elected member of the Greenwich Board of Estimate and Taxation. On both boards, he is focused on working towards excellence in education. He also serves as Chairman of the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee.
Jim lives in Cos Cob with his wife Mary and two daughters: Emma (7) and Linley (4). He looks forward to drawing on his experiences in public policy, in business, and in life to serve the people of the 4th District of Connecticut.
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