nicholas byram

ISSUE: Liberal activists are coming down hard on President
Bush's plan to restore peace in post-Saddam Iraq. Conservatives
need to fight back -- while sticking to their principles of
limited government and no "budget-busting." Now, we have a
good way to do that.

Rep. Pat Toomey (R-PA), who strongly supports President
George W. Bush's request for funds to rebuild Iraq, has
announced a plan to provide $20.3 billion in savings by
trimming federal spending for lower-priority foreign aid
programs.

Rep. Toomey and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) have unveiled a
plan to trim $20.3 billion in savings over the next five
years -- which would pay the $20 billion in Iraq
reconstruction funds requested by the President by reducing
international affairs spending by $4 billion for each of
the next five fiscal years.

"Just as we won the war in Iraq, it's vital that we win the
peace. Funding Iraq's reconstruction will help us win the
peace, but this does not need to be an additional expense
for taxpayers," Toomey said. "This funding is a priority.Â
We should offset the cost with reductions in lower priority
foreign aid programs."

This plan would begin immediately by reducing international
affairs spending by $4 billion from the House-passed levels.
For Fiscal Year 2004, the House has approved $26.7 billion
for international affairs programs.

While it wouldn't reduce funding for critical programs, the
funding of new programs or other lower-priority programs
would be either eliminated or reduced, including USAID
operating expenses, much foreign military financing, most
economic support for foreign nations, and contributions to
various international programs (including the U.N., the
International Fund for Ireland, UNESCO, and the Asian
Development Bank).

"Helping rebuild the infrastructure and civil society of
Iraq is just as important to winning the war on terror as
are additional combat troops and munitions," Rep. Hensarling
stated. "We believe this fair fiscal offset is the best way
to accomplish our mission while maintaining fiscal
responsibility and not adding to the burden of American
taxpayers."

Sounds like a great plan! (More info is available at
http://www.conservativealerts.com/toomeyplan.pdf )

ACTION ITEM: We need to urge our Congressmen to support
this plan, and to start the new fiscal year with a fiscally
responsible approach to rebuilding the newly freed Iraq. If
we don't take action NOW, the liberal activists will likely
convince enough Congress to vote President Bush's plan DOWN.

to support Reps. Toomey and Hensarling's plan to help win
the peace and save taxpayer money: http://www.conservativealerts.com/101603.htm
<a href="http://www.conservativealerts.com/101603.htm"> AOL GO HERE </a>

NOTE: Be sure to forward this e-mail to everyone you know
who wants to help support President Bush in his efforts to
rebuild Iraq so that our troops can come home safely. Thank
you!