Jim Himes Calls Attention to Mission Not Accomplished at Home
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 01, 2008
On Fifth Anniversary of Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech, Democratic Candidate for Congress Highlights Growing Cost of Iraq War
Norwalk, CT - Today, businessman and non-profit executive Jim Himes held a "Mission Not Accomplished" press event at the Norwalk City Hall. May 1 marks the fifth anniversary of President Bush's "Mission Accomplished" aircraft carrier landing and speech, in which the President claimed that the United States had achieved its objective in Iraq and that major combat operations had ended.
Five years later, with no mission accomplished and no end to our occupation of Iraq in sight, the cost of the war has prevented us from achieving important objectives at home.
"Five years later, it is clear that George Bush and Chris Shays have no plan to get us out of Iraq," said Himes. "This war has cost our district alone more than $3.1 billion, or $4,700 of per household. The runaway spending on Iraq has meant that critical missions here at home are not accomplished. Imagine what we could accomplish if we invested this money where it is most needed. We should be investing in improving our schools, moving us towards energy independence, and creating a health care system that works for everyone."
"For five years now, Chris Shays has supported this war at enormous cost in lives and hundreds of billions of dollars," said Maura Keaney, Himes' campaign manager. "Now Chris Shays supports a candidate for President who has said it would be fine with him if we stayed in Iraq for 100 years. These are his choices, but they are not the priorities of families here in our district who are feeling the pain of our failing economy."
Photos of event:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/himesforcongress/2457739278
http://www.flickr.com/photos/himesforcongress/2457739424
Background:
The estimated cost of the war to fourth district taxpayers alone has been $3.1 Billion. The National Priorities Project estimates that with that amount, the fourth distrct could have could have been provided with:
1,024,089 People with Health Care for One Year OR
3,826,989 Homes with Renewable Electricity for One Year OR
370,678 Scholarships for University Students for One Year OR
119 New Elementary Schools OR
14,845 Affordable Housing Units OR
1,190,047 Children with Health Care for One Year OR
430,262 Head Start Places for Children for One Year OR
42,790 Elementary School Teachers for One Year OR
37,668 Port Container Inspectors for One year
[Source: National Priorities Project: ]http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home]
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