Roby meets with US and Iraqi military leaders in Baghdad

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March 31, 2015

BAGHDAD, IRAQ — Congresswoman Martha Roby (R-AL2) joined with several other members of the House this week, including House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH8), to meet with Iraqi government officials as part of the CODEL (congressional delegation trip) which also took Rep. Roby to Israel last week to evaluate the influence of ISIS in the Middle East.

“We had a number of high level meetings with both Iraqi and U.S. leaders in Baghdad to gain a firsthand understanding of efforts to degrade and defeat ISIS,” Rep. Roby said in a press release Tuesday. “Our discussions with U.S. military commanders, our ambassador and elected Iraqi officials were productive, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to hear directly from them.”

Rep. Roby serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction & Veterans Affairs, and has been fighting for increased military spending during the budgeting process over the last several months.

“With sequestration in place, there is a real threat to future defense funding that will directly impact our military’s ability to respond to emerging threats around the world. Meanwhile, global security issues are only growing more complex. I’m pleased that the House budget passed last week represents a first step in addressing the sequestration issue in the near term, but traveling in the Middle East underscores for me the importance of correcting sequestration for the long run. I think it is important that defense-minded members have a seat at the table, and it’s my responsibility to make sure that point of view is represented.”

“There are serious issues and activities going on in the Middle East and I think it’s critically important for members of Congress to hear from foreign leaders, other governments, other parts of their government, to get a real handle on the challenges that we face there,” Speaker Boehner said on the CODEL.

In addition to the Speaker and Rep. Roby, the CODEL includes:

* Rep. John Kline (R-MN), a member of the House Armed Services Committee;
* Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence;
* Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa and a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence;
* Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense;
* Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense;
* Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense;
* Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID), chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy & Water.