Lynn C. Woolsey: “Mr. Speaker, last week the House voted unanimously to allow military reservists and National Guardsmen to make…”

“Mr. Speaker, last week the House voted unanimously to allow military reservists and National Guardsmen to make penalty-free withdrawals from their retirement accounts when they are called up for an extended period of active duty. This bill seeks to help the one-third of Reservists who took a pay cut when called to duty in Iraq. Every Member of Congress supported this legislation because everyone supports the brave men and women who selflessly sacrifice their time, their energy, and increasingly their lives on behalf of this country. But we should not be proud of ourselves for unanimously passing this legislation. Instead of patting ourselves on the back for allowing our Reservists to raid their retirement accounts penalty free. We should be doing much more for those who defend this country during times of war. Last November this Congress passed outrageous legislation to fund the war effort to the tune of $87 billion. That is on top of the $78 billion in supplemental funds that was appropriated in March 2003, yet reports show billions of those dollars are being misused, misappropriated and some even stolen in Iraq.”