To: Multnomah County Board of County Commissioners
County Chair Jeff Cogen
Commissioner Deborah Kafoury
Commissioner Loretta Smith
Commissioner Judy Shiprack
Commissioner Diane McKeel
501 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Suite 600
Portland, OR 97214-3587

Dear Multnomah County Commissioner:

As a resident of Multnomah County, I am writing to urge you to pass a Multnomah County resolution calling for the U.S. to "bring our war dollars home." Since 2001, Multnomah County taxpayers have paid $2.2 billion toward the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. During this same time period we have seen dramatic cutbacks in county funding for social and health services that are desperately needed by our community. Given the economic realities of this time, our community cannot simultaneously support these unnecessary wars and maintain a healthy, educated, environmentally sustainable and employed community.

On Thursday January 12, 2012, the Portland City Council voted to support a similar resolution calling on the President and the U.S. Congress to bring the war dollars home and re-direct that money for community needs. In June 2011, the U.S. Conference of Mayors passed the below resolution.

The following is the text of the US Conference of Mayors Resolution:

CALLING ON CONGRESS TO REDIRECT MILITARY SPENDING TO DOMESTIC PRIORITIES

WHEREAS, every member of the US Conference of Mayors and the Americans they represent, support our brave men and women in uniform and their families;

WHEREAS, the drawdown of troops should be done in a measured way that does not destabilize the region and that can accelerate the transfer of responsibility to regional authorities;

WHEREAS, the severity of the ongoing economic crisis has created budget shortfalls at all levels of government and requires us to re-examine our national spending priorities; and

WHEREAS, the people of the United States are collectively paying approximately $126 billion dollars per year to wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan; and

WHEREAS, 6,024 members of the US armed forces have died in these wars; and at least 120,000 civilians have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since the coalition attacks began.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the United States Conference of Mayors supports efforts to speed up the ending of these wars; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the United States Conference of Mayors calls on the President and U.S. Congress to end the wars as soon as strategically possible and bring these war dollars home to meet vital human needs, promote job creation, rebuild our infrastructure, aid municipal and state governments, and develop a new economy based upon renewable, sustainable energy and reduce the federal debt.

I urge you to add the voice of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners to this important call to redirect our war dollars to our local domestic priorities.

Although the "official" war in Iraq has ended, U.S. taxpayers are still funding private military contractors and our footprint in Iraq remains a hugely destabilizing presence in that country. Therefore, we specifically call for an end to funding military contractors in both Iraq and Afghanistan as well as a safe and rapid withdrawal of U.S. Troops from Afghanistan.

Given the cutbacks across the board in Multnomah County, we value our elected leaders passing a county resolution as a step toward a more peaceful and vibrant future for our community.

Sincerely,

_________________________________

Address: _______________________

____________, OR Zip: ________

Portland War $$ Home page
Campaign to Bring the Troops Home