Congressman Bruce Braley of Waterloo is likely to support a bill that would forbid construction of permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq. "I am inclined to support that as something that I don’t think is in our long-term best interest to have permanent military bases in Iraq," Braley says.
Braley, a Democrat, characterizes the bill as part of an overall strategy Democrats are pursuing on Iraq. "It’s clear that we need to be doing more to put pressure on the president to change his failed policy in Iraq," Braley says. "Certainly, that looks like one of the steps that we will be considering." The bill is being debated in the House today.
Polls show public opinion of Congress at an all-time low. "There are always people who feel you’re doing too much. There’s people who feel you’re not doing enough," Braley says. "My job is to go back and talk about the things that I’m doing to try to impact change on the president, at the same time all the things that I’ve been doing personally and that we’ve been doing to try to improve the lives of people who are serving this country."
Braley represents Iowa’s first district, which includes the cities of Davenport, Clinton, Dubuque and Waterloo.