George Zainyeh, Rhode Island chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, listens to Ingrid O’Brien, left, read letters from service members who have served in Iraq. At center is Dianne Ritchie and at right is Stephany Kern, of Westerly.

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL / Bob Breidenbach

PAWTUCKET — Jacque Amoureux, whose brother served with the Marines in Iraq, and Stephany Kern of Westerly, whose son died there, were among 20 war protesters who converged on the Pawtucket office of U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy yesterday demanding that he publicly support withholding money for the war effort.

While Kennedy’s opposition to escalating the war has been appreciated, said Amoureux, a 30-year-old graduate student at Brown University, “we’re particularly perplexed why Kennedy isn’t more strongly supporting defunding the war.

“We have to apply some pressure on him to be straighter with us about what he thinks.”

Amoureux and Kern are members of the Rhode Island chapter of Military Families Speak Out, who say they will be making the same demand on U.S. Rep. James Langevin this week.

As Democrats, who now hold the majority in Congress, look to prod President Bush toward shifting direction in Iraq, one emerging target coming into play is the president’s request for a special $99.6-billion spending bill to cover the cost of fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the rest of this fiscal year.

The war protesters say voting against the supplemental appropriations bill would be the most effective and courageous way for Congress to step in and end the war and bring the troops home.

“After four years, more than 3,000 Americans killed, over 20,000 wounded and hundreds of thousands of civilians dead …why is Congress taking so long to take some effective action to end the war so that Iraqi reconciliation can begin,” Amoureux said in a statement.

Kennedy spokeswoman Robin Costello said yesterday that the debate on the supplemental budget request has not yet begun.

While the president has stated how much he wants, he has yet to make that request in the form of a legislative bill.

“Right now, no one knows what the final form of that supplement looks like,” said Costello. “Until he [Kennedy] knows, he’s not going to make a decision on it.”

Kennedy was not in Pawtucket yesterday to address the war protesters.

Costello said there are potential amendments to the supplemental request that could force a shift in Mr. Bush’s war policy and which Kennedy is reviewing, including one from U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.

Murtha, who chairs the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, is proposing setting stringent rules on troop training and readiness “which could prevent Bush from sending in more troops and force his hand to send troops home,” said Costello, “so there are ideas.”

Langevin is also looking at the supplemental budget request as an important tool that Democrats can use to change direction in Iraq by attaching certain amendments and restrictions on how the money is spent, said his spokeswoman, Joy Fox.

“A lot of good can be done by how the supplemental is finally written,” Fox said. “In the end, it may come out that the groups who are against it now, may be in support of it later.

“The congressman,” Fox said, “wants to make sure we continue to support the troops that are there and repair and replace the equipment that has been lost so far. However, he is not interested in funding things he is opposed to, including continued combat and the troop surge.”

Amoureux says why wait.

If Langevin and Kennedy are both opposed to the war now, she says, end it now.

“We’re really sorry for them that it’s politically inconvenient for them, but people are dying as a result of these decisions.

“Match your words with your actions and stop playing politics with the lives of our loved ones.”

Kern, whose son Lance Cpl. Nickolas K. Schiavoni died in Iraq in 2005, said the entire supplemental budget request “is a waste of money” because the soldiers on the ground aren’t getting what they need now.

“The president saying this money is for the troops hits me as such a disgraceful lie. We are the world’s most industrial nation and we still can’t armor the vehicles that they need.”

She said the president should use all the money to bring the soldiers home and “re-acclimate them back into society. If we have anything extra, send it to New Orleans.”

tmooney@projo.com