Earlier this week, I got another robo-call from the "Campaign to Defend America," which is part of Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, one of the sponsors of the recent protests. Like the call I received last month, it mentions a specific vote and tells me to call Kuhl's Bath office:
Hello, this is the Campaign to Defend America. I'm John Brunhn. I'm an combat Iraqi veteran. Last week, Congressman Randy Kuhl voted against giving our brave soldiers in Iraq rest time with their families, even after 15 months of combat and multiple combat tours. Call Congressman Kuhl at 607-776-9142. Tell him to stand up to Dick Cheney and Halliburton. Our soldiers deserve time with their families and should not be forgotten in this endless Iraq civil war.
The bill in question is HR 3159, which mandates that deployments of active-duty troops to combat can't occur unless the unit has had a period of rest at least as long as the last deployment. It also prohibits deployment of reserve units if the unit has been deployed during the last three years. The bill allows the president to waive the restriction in case of national emergency, and it permits individual service members to volunteer for early deployment.
The bill passed the house on almost party-line vote and is now in the Senate. Randy Kuhl voted against the bill. James Walsh in neighboring NY-25 was one of the few Republicans to vote for it.