Full Text of HR0193 95th General Assembly
HR0193 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The United States of America was the victim of a | 3 |
| massive and unprovoked terrorist attack on September 11, 2001; | 4 |
| and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, The terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 was | 6 |
| orchestrated by Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda terrorist | 7 |
| network; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda terrorist network | 9 |
| are also responsible for horrible acts of treachery and murder | 10 |
| against American citizens in Yemen, Tanzania, and Kenya; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, The oppressive Taliban regime of Afghanistan | 12 |
| harbored Osama bin Laden and the leadership of the al Qaeda | 13 |
| terrorist network, and the Taliban regime of Afghanistan | 14 |
| refused to disavow and turn over to the United States | 15 |
| government Osama bin Laden and the leadership of the al Qaeda | 16 |
| terrorist network responsible for the September 11, 2001 | 17 |
| attack; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, With the strong support of the people of the | 19 |
| United States, including the people of Illinois, the United | 20 |
| States Armed Forces pursued Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda | 21 |
| terrorist network in Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban |
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| regime; and | 2 |
| WHEREAS, Through the dedicated efforts of the United States | 3 |
| Armed Forces and as a direct result of the fall of the Taliban | 4 |
| regime, a democratically elected government emerged in | 5 |
| Afghanistan; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, The President of the United States and members of | 7 |
| the United States government, utilizing faulty and unreliable | 8 |
| intelligence, redirected United States military resources from | 9 |
| pursuing Osama bin Laden and the leaders of the al Qaeda | 10 |
| terrorist network in Afghanistan to an invasion of the country | 11 |
| of Iraq, though the government of Iraq had no responsibility | 12 |
| for the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and harbored | 13 |
| neither Osama bin Laden nor the leadership of the al Qaeda | 14 |
| terrorist network; and | 15 |
| WHEREAS, The United States Armed Forces are now engaged in | 16 |
| a protracted occupation of the country of Iraq that began in | 17 |
| 2003; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, More than 137,000 American military personnel are | 19 |
| serving in Iraq, and thousands more have served since March of | 20 |
| 2003, with the bravery and professionalism consistent with the | 21 |
| finest traditions of the United States Armed Forces; and |
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| WHEREAS, Thousands of American military personnel serving | 2 |
| in Iraq, including members of the Illinois National Guard, are | 3 |
| past and present residents of the State of Illinois; and | 4 |
| WHEREAS, All United States military personnel deserve the | 5 |
| support of the American people, and the people of Illinois; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, The war and occupation of Iraq have resulted in | 7 |
| the deaths of more than 3,000 United States military personnel, | 8 |
| and the wounding and disabling of more than 22,000 United | 9 |
| States military personnel, among them past and present | 10 |
| residents of the State of Illinois; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, On January 10, 2007, President George W. Bush | 12 |
| announced the escalation of United States military involvement | 13 |
| in Iraq by proposing the deployment of more than 21,000 | 14 |
| additional United States military personnel, who are likely to | 15 |
| include many past and present residents of the State of | 16 |
| Illinois; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, The proposed escalation could further extend the | 18 |
| tours of duty of members of the Illinois National Guard; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, The cost of deployment to Iraq of members of the | 20 |
| Illinois National Guard has been significant, as reckoned in | 21 |
| lost lives; combat injuries; disruption of family life; |
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| financial hardship for individuals, families, and businesses; | 2 |
| interruption of careers; and damage to the fabric of civic life | 3 |
| in our communities; and | 4 |
| WHEREAS, An escalated, open-ended commitment of United | 5 |
| States military forces in Iraq is unsustainable and serves as a | 6 |
| deterrent to the government of Iraq exercising political and | 7 |
| military leadership and providing Iraqi personnel and | 8 |
| resources required to end sectarian violence; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, The continued redirection of United States | 10 |
| military resources away from the pursuit of Osama bin Laden and | 11 |
| the leadership of the al Qaeda terrorist network in Afghanistan | 12 |
| has led to a resurgence of Taliban forces, which could lead to | 13 |
| the destabilization of the democratically elected government | 14 |
| of Afghanistan; and | 15 |
| WHEREAS, United States military experts, including past | 16 |
| and present members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have stated | 17 |
| their opposition to an escalation of United States military | 18 |
| personnel in Iraq; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, More than $357 billion has been appropriated by | 20 |
| the United States Congress to fund military and reconstruction | 21 |
| efforts in Iraq to date, money that could be utilized for | 22 |
| education, health care, housing, nutrition, and other domestic |
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| social services, along with international humanitarian aid; | 2 |
| and | 3 |
| WHEREAS, Prior appropriations made by the United States | 4 |
| Congress have prioritized operations in Iraq, resulting in cuts | 5 |
| to critical financial assistance to states, including the State | 6 |
| of Illinois, and have increased the gross debt and compounded | 7 |
| interest of the United States, which leads to additional cuts | 8 |
| in funding for critical needs in the states; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, The United States Congress has broad authority and | 10 |
| a long tradition of limiting military escalation by placing | 11 |
| budgetary limitations on such escalation, utilizing power | 12 |
| granted by the Constitution of the United States of America; | 13 |
| therefore, be it | 14 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 15 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, That | 16 |
| the State of Illinois, on behalf of its citizens, salutes and | 17 |
| supports the dedicated service of the members of the United | 18 |
| States Armed Forces, including members of the Illinois National | 19 |
| Guard; and be it further | 20 |
| RESOLVED, That the American people, including the people of | 21 |
| Illinois, with unbounded determination, support the efforts of | 22 |
| the United States Armed Forces to pursue and defeat the |
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| terrorist forces responsible for the September 11, 2001 attack | 2 |
| and make certain this form of treachery will never endanger the | 3 |
| American people again; and
be it further | 4 |
| RESOLVED, That the State of Illinois, on behalf of its | 5 |
| citizens, urges that the United States government should not | 6 |
| put more members of the United States Armed Forces in harm's | 7 |
| way by escalating our involvement in Iraq through an increase | 8 |
| in troop levels; and
be it further | 9 |
| RESOLVED, That the President of the United States should | 10 |
| obtain explicit approval from the United States Congress before | 11 |
| the deployment of additional United States military personnel | 12 |
| to Iraq; and be it further | 13 |
| RESOLVED, That the United States Congress should pass | 14 |
| legislation prohibiting the President of the United States from | 15 |
| spending additional taxpayer money to fund an escalation of | 16 |
| troop levels in Iraq unless the President seeks and receives | 17 |
| congressional approval; and
be it further | 18 |
| RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution shall be | 19 |
| sent to President of the United States George W. Bush, each | 20 |
| member of the Illinois congressional delegation, the Speaker of | 21 |
| the United States House of Representatives, the Minority Leader | 22 |
| of the United States House of Representatives, the President |
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| Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, and the Minority | 2 |
| Leader of the United States Senate.
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