WASHINGTON - December 14 -- Just before Congress recesses for the year, and days before funding for the federal government is set to run out, Congress is on the verge of making a deal that will involve funding a limited number of domestic issues in exchange for the inclusion of funds President Bush has been seeking to continue the war in Iraq.

Members of Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) are outraged with those in Congress who profess to be against the war in Iraq, yet help broker and support a budget deal that continues to fund it.

“Congress will once again be complicit in permitting an illegal and immoral war to continue unchecked. They continue to buy this war, and now they own it lock stock and barrel,” said Nancy Lessin, co-founder of MFSO. She added, “Military and Gold Star families who have been speaking out against the war in Iraq are not fooled by Members of Congress who plan to vote against the budget package they have just brokered or allowed to happen. They continue to betray our troops, their families and this nation by facilitating the funding of a war based on lies.”

Dena Ciferri, a member of MFSO whose husband is currently serving in Iraq added, “My husband is in Iraq fighting a war that should not be happening. Military families are reminding Congress that this is not a shell game they are playing. Providing President Bush with funds to continue the war in Iraq allows the continued deaths and maiming of our loved ones and the Iraqi people. Military families across the country, including other base wives like myself, know that real support for our troops means providing all funds necessary to bring them home quickly and safely, and take care of veterans and their families. ”

Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) is a national organization of over 3,800 families who are opposed to the war in Iraq and have loved ones in the military.