The 4th District has contributed $1.4 billion to the Iraq War and Occupation. In FY 2008 our district will contribute $150.4 million; the proposed budget for FY 2009 will cost $315.5 million. Iraq costs will double, oil and energy costs continue to rise and in some areas of the 4th District, good jobs are disappearing at an alarming rate.  The numbers are so huge it's hard to imagine what those numbers actually mean.  Let me break it down for you in terms of what we won't get this year and in 2009 because we budgeted the money for Iraq and not here at home.  

Taxpayers in Congressional District 4 will pay $150.4 million for additional proposed Iraq War spending for FY 2008. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:

Every one says we need clean, renewable energy solutions. If we continue in Iraq (and these numbers do not include expanding the war into Iran or Pakistan) we could retrofit 1.3 million homes for renewable energy. The bigger and more troubling aspect of these expenditures is the U.S. is steadily expanding war as its national product. Public tax funds are used to pay for war/occupation services provided by private companies. In short we will continue the drain on the national treasury making the American public less safe and more fiscally vulnerable.

Randy Forbes was first elected in 2001 and he has consistently voted for the Bush agenda for the past 7 years. He has supported spending $1.2 billion of our tax dollars on a war/occupation with no end in sight as our economy heads for recession and war spending is doubling. Mr. Forbes consistently casts his votes to benefit the military; what he seems to have forgotten is that he was originally elected to represent a largely civilian population. The military does not elect Congressional Representatives; that is the right of the local citizens.

When an elected official no longer represents the citizen taxpayers, the official becomes a luxury. Randy Forbes is a luxury the taxpayers of the 4th Congressional District can no longer afford.