<a id="pl.1.2"></a><var>1.2</var>opposing escalation of United States troops in Iraq.<br/>
<a id="pl.1.3"></a><var>1.3</var>WHEREAS, the President has proposed an escalation in the number of United States <br/>
<a id="pl.1.4"></a><var>1.4</var>troops deployed in Iraq; and  <br/>
<a id="pl.1.5"></a><var>1.5</var>WHEREAS, United States involvement in Iraq has resulted in the deaths of more than <br/>
<a id="pl.1.6"></a><var>1.6</var>3,000 United States soldiers and the wounding and disabling of more than 22,000 United States <br/>
<a id="pl.1.7"></a><var>1.7</var>military personnel to date; and  <br/>
<a id="pl.1.8"></a><var>1.8</var>WHEREAS, this proposed escalation will further extend National Guard tours in Iraq; and <br/>
<a id="pl.1.9"></a><var>1.9</var>the costs to the states of the call-up of National Guard members for deployment in Iraq have <br/>
<a id="pl.1.10"></a><var>1.10</var>been significant, not only as reckoned in lost lives, combat injuries, and psychic trauma, but <br/>
<a id="pl.1.11"></a><var>1.11</var>also in disruption of family life, interruption of careers, damage to the fabric of civic life in our <br/>
<a id="pl.1.12"></a><var>1.12</var>communities, and financial hardship for individuals, families, and businesses; and <br/>
<a id="pl.1.13"></a><var>1.13</var>WHEREAS, American troops have valiantly upheld their duty in Iraq under dire <br/>
<a id="pl.1.14"></a><var>1.14</var>circumstances; and  <br/>
<a id="pl.1.15"></a><var>1.15</var>WHEREAS, more than $357 billion has been appropriated by Congress to fund military <br/>
<a id="pl.1.16"></a><var>1.16</var>operations and reconstruction in Iraq to date, money that could fund desperately needed education, <br/>
<a id="pl.1.17"></a><var>1.17</var>health care, housing, nutrition, and other social services in our communities in the United States <br/>
<a id="pl.1.18"></a><var>1.18</var>or humanitarian assistance abroad; and  <br/>
<a id="pl.1.19"></a><var>1.19</var>WHEREAS, previous budgets that have prioritized Iraq have led to cuts in critical block <br/>
<a id="pl.1.20"></a><var>1.20</var>grants for states and have increased the federal debt, which, compounded by interest payments, <br/>
<a id="pl.1.21"></a><var>1.21</var>will likely lead to even larger cuts in funding for critical needs in the states; and  <br/>
<a id="pl.2.1"></a><var>2.1</var>WHEREAS, polls show that the vast majority of Americans do not support increasing <br/>
<a id="pl.2.2"></a><var>2.2</var>the number of troops in Iraq; and  <br/>
<a id="pl.2.3"></a><var>2.3</var>WHEREAS, most military experts oppose escalation in Iraq, and press reports indicate that <br/>
<a id="pl.2.4"></a><var>2.4</var>even the Joint Chiefs of Staff have opposed such a strategy; and  <br/>
<a id="pl.2.5"></a><var>2.5</var>WHEREAS, legal experts on all sides have determined that Congress has not only broad <br/>
<a id="pl.2.6"></a><var>2.6</var>authority but a long tradition of limiting escalation or forcing redeployment of troops through the <br/>
<a id="pl.2.7"></a><var>2.7</var>constitutionally designated power of the purse; NOW, THEREFORE,  <br/>
<a id="pl.2.8"></a><var>2.8</var>BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the State of Minnesota, on behalf of its citizens, <br/>
<a id="pl.2.9"></a><var>2.9</var>urges that in a period when the Iraq Study Group, leading military and diplomatic officials, <br/>
<a id="pl.2.10"></a><var>2.10</var>and allies around the world are calling for a reduction in troops and withdrawal of the United <br/>
<a id="pl.2.11"></a><var>2.11</var>States from Iraq, the United States government should not escalate its involvement in Iraq or <br/>
<a id="pl.2.12"></a><var>2.12</var>increase troop levels; and<br/>
<a id="pl.2.13"></a><var>2.13</var>BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, at a minimum, the President should obtain explicit <br/>
<a id="pl.2.14"></a><var>2.14</var>approval from Congress if he wants to send more American troops to Iraq.<br/>
<a id="pl.2.15"></a><var>2.15</var>BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Congress should pass legislation prohibiting <br/>
<a id="pl.2.16"></a><var>2.16</var>the President from spending taxpayer dollars on an escalation in Iraq unless he first seeks <br/>
<a id="pl.2.17"></a><var>2.17</var>Congressional approval.<br/>
<a id="pl.2.18"></a><var>2.18</var>BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the  State of Minnesota is <br/>
<a id="pl.2.19"></a><var>2.19</var>directed to prepare copies of this  memorial and transmit them to the President of  the United <br/>
<a id="pl.2.20"></a><var>2.20</var>States, the President and the Secretary of the  United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk <br/>
<a id="pl.2.21"></a><var>2.21</var>of the United  States House of Representatives, the chair of the Senate  Committee on Armed <br/>
<a id="pl.2.22"></a><var>2.22</var>Services, the chair of the House Committee  on Armed Services, and Minnesota's Senators and  <br/>
<a id="pl.2.23"></a><var>2.23</var>Representatives in Congress.<br/>