Maine Representative Vote ‘No’
WASHINGTON, Oct. 10, 2002–Democratic Reps. Tom Allen and John Baldacci both voted no on the resolution the House passed Thursday to grant President Bush the power to attack Iraq unilaterally. The Senate was expected to vote on the resolution Thursday night or Friday.
The Maine representatives were in the minority as 296 of the 435 members voted to authorize the president to use military force if he determines it necessary to protect the United States against the threat posed by Iraq. The resolution allows Bush to enforce U.N. Security Council resolutions on Iraq and requires him to notify Congress before using force.
In speeches earlier this week on the House floor, Allen and Baldacci expressed their support for an alternative resolution, which would, according to Allen, have authorized “the use of force through the United Nations” but would “provide no blank check for unilateral military action.”
Published in The Bangor Daily News, in Maine.
