Reps. Sak, Adamini, McConico, Bieda, Plakas, Dennis, Byrum, Meisner, Accavitti, Amos, Brandenburg, Clack, DeRossett, Hunter, Murphy, O'Neil, Vagnozzi, Waters and Wojno offered the following resolution:

            House Resolution No. 127.

            A resolution to memorialize the President and the Congress of the United States to enact legislation to require that all money being spent in Iraq be considered a loan that must be paid back to the American people.

            Whereas, The war in Iraq and the ensuing nation-building activities represent a massive drain on the resources of the American people.  The recent announcement of the need for another $87 billion for Iraq—on top of almost that amount of money spent to date on this troubling enterprise—is focusing attention on the impact that this expenditure is having on virtually all aspects of our national economy; and

            Whereas, At a time when unemployment is rising, the fabric of our social network is eroding, and state and local governments are forced to make drastic cuts across the board, our actions in spending billions of dollars per month in Iraq need to be examined critically.  There needs to be a major change in our approach to this war and all costs associated with the rebuilding of Iraq.  Without the reassurance that these costs will be repaid, future generations of Americans will be burdened with this debt at the expense of spending for schools, health, public safety, infrastructure needs, economic opportunity, and homeland security; and

            Whereas, The enormity of the commitment in Iraq, especially with the additional spending proposed, can only be carried out by shifting resources and commitment from other areas of public spending.  Critical domestic matters cannot possibly be addressed adequately as billions of dollars flow to Iraq.  Recognizing this fact in legislation that assures that these billions of dollars constitute a loan that will have to be returned fully to the American people is eminently fair and overdue; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we memorialize the President and the Congress of the United States to enact legislation to require that all money being spent in Iraq be considered a loan that must be paid back to the American people; and be it further

            Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Office of the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.