As a candidate, Sestak campaigned to end the war in Iraq. Once in office, in 2007, he supported Congressional efforts to redeploy forces and submitted legislation for commencing the redeployment, allowing one year to safely withdraw the troops. He also voted for the war supplemental the House constructed after President Bush's veto, a bill many critics of the Bush administration called a "blank check" for the four month continuation of administration policies in the Middle East. In response, Sestak and other veterans argued that they should not punish soldiers for the President's actions, and supported the bill in order to give the armed forces adequate protection and equipment until withdrawn for the one year it would take to do it safely.