Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today joined a majority of her colleagues in the House of Representatives to back legislation that would end the war in Iraq. The Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act was passed by a vote of 223 to 201 and requires American forces to begin redeploying within 120 days and to complete the transition to a limited presence in Iraq by April 1, 2008.

Today’s vote came on the same day as the release of the White House Interim Report on Iraq, which indicates that the Iraqi government has failed to meet key benchmarks endorsed by the President in January.

“Today, we learned that the Iraqi government has failed to meet the benchmarks endorsed by the Bush Administration in January.  Still, the President wants us to be patient as he pursues his plan for more troops, more time, more money, and more of the same in Iraq,” said Representative Schakowsky. “It’s clear the so-called surged has failed after six months, 600 lives, and $60 billion have been lost.”

In its fifth year, the war in Iraq has cost American taxpayers $450 billion and new reports indicate that America spends $10 billion per month on the war in Iraq. To date, more than 3,600 Americans have lost their lives in Iraq and more than 26,000 have been wounded.

“The American people have waited long enough and their patience has finally run out.  After years of chaos and bloodshed, it is time to bring our troops home.”

Washington, D.C. –U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) released the following statement after President Bush commuted Scooter Libby’s prison sentence yesterday evening.  I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Jr., former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, was sentenced to 30 months in prison after being convicted for obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements to FBI investigators for his role in leaking the identity of a CIA operative.

“I am very disappointed by the President’s decision to commute Scooter Libby’s sentence, but frankly I am not surprised.  This decision was not based on the facts or merits of the case; it was clearly political payback for being the scapegoat in the Valerie Plame affair. 

The Bush Administration has been playing fast and loose with the law since the first day they took office.  Whether it’s authorizing warrantless wiretapping, suspending habeas corpus, torturing prisoners at Abu Ghraib or revealing the identity of an undercover CIA agent for political payback, the Bush Administration has constantly shown a blatant disregard for the rule of law.  Instead of enforcing the law, the Bush Administration has defended and even rewarded people, like Scooter Libby, who have broken the law.

I strongly believe that this is the most corrupt Administration in the history of our country.  At every turn, this Administration has abused its power, ignored the law and used fear to manipulate the American people for political gain.”