[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 141 (Wednesday, October 8, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H9368-H9374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
QUESTIONS FOR THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Murphy). Under the Speaker's announced
policy of January 7, 2003, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings)
is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
General Leave
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks on the topic of my special order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Maryland?
There was no objection.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I come tonight to address this House along
with my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, and I guess one
thing, as I heard our previous speaker talking about Martin Luther
King, I could not help but think about a quote that King stated many
years ago when he said that when you talk about peace, it is not just
the absence of conflict but it is the presence of justice.
And tonight the Congressional Black Caucus, as we did last week and
we will continue to do over and over again, come forward in the spirit
of justice, justice with regard to the American people, who have a
right to know what is going on in their country and with the tax
dollars that they work so hard to give to our national Treasury. I
think they want justice so that they can fully understand why it is
that just a few months ago the President came asking for close to $80
billion and this Congress gave it to him for Iraq. I think they will
consider justice to simply be that they now have answers to the
questions with regard to the present $87 billion, questions answered
which will help them understand what is going on and why it is that
their tax dollars are being spent.
Those same citizens, like the Congressional Black Caucus, are very
clear with regard to support of our troops. We support our troops with
everything we have got. As I often say, we support our troops 1 million
percent, but the fact is that, if justice is to prevail and if peace is
to really come to this world, we also need to know and the American
citizens need to know whether those troops, while we applaud them over
and over again, whether they are receiving justice when they ask the
question and send the letters to their congressmen and to their
representatives and to their Senators asking what do we have to do to
get the things that we need to address this war that we are in?
So I want to make it very clear that there is not the slightest bit
of reluctance to support our troops. We do. But now we must begin to
answer some questions, and we presented these questions to the
President before, and we will present them over and over again.
Recently, we in the Congressional Black Caucus released the
principles that will guide our evaluation of the administration's $87
billion supplemental funding request regarding the United States'
involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. This latest $87 billion request, I
should note, is in addition to the $80 billion that Congress
appropriated just last spring.
In the Congressional Black Caucus statement of principles, we
declared the following: The administration should provide to the
Congress the full details of the information relied upon by the
President in his decision to go to war. We asked for a detailed
accounting from the administration as to all funds expended to date,
including details about all contracts for works in or related to Iraq.
We asserted that the President should provide full details about how
the efforts will be paid for, including a full accounting of how and to
what extent Iraqi resources could be used to reduce the United States'
costs. We indicated that the President should provide the Congress with
a detailed plan showing how the proposed new funding will be spent,
distinguishing between what will be used for the protection and
maintenance of our troops and what will be used for the rebuilding of
Iraq.
We went on to say, and we declare that the President should provide
full details about the future obligations of the United States and
about how responsibility and authority for these obligations will be
shared with the United Nations and other nations around the world. And
we asked that the President set forth the criteria he will expect to be
met before bringing our troops home.
Mr. Speaker, next week this House will vote on the administration's
$87 billion request. Personally and on behalf of my colleagues within
the Congressional Black Caucus, I once again pledge our unwavering
support for our troops. We must provide our brave young men and women
with all the resources they need to complete their mission and return
home as soon as possible.
I suggest, however, that our evaluation of the administration's
supplemental funding request requires further consideration of what
precisely the mission of our troops in Iraq will be from this point
forward. That question is central to the last four CBC principles that
I just mentioned, and it is central to the concerns of the 26 million
Americans the Congressional Black Caucus members represent.
I must note that we are being asked to appropriate this $87 billion,
more than twice the amount of the entire Homeland Security Department's
fiscal year 2004 budget. I must also acknowledge that we have not yet
provided the Federal funding needed by our States and local governments
to assure the security of our people right here at home.
I believe that there is substantial support in this House for a
continuing and significant United States role in the rebuilding of Iraq
and the transition of Iraq to a democratic peaceful society. Once
again, however, we are faced with a critical issue of national policy.
Must the United States substantially go it alone in financing the
reconstruction of Iraq? Or, in the alternative, will the administration
be able to obtain substantial United Nations involvement and financial
participation?
The answers to these questions will be central to our evaluation of
the administration's $87 billion request and especially the $20 billion
plus requested for rebuilding Iraq.
As I speak, Mr. Speaker, the administration's proposed resolution
seeking U.N. support is in trouble within the United Nations Security
Council. The critical question appears to be this: Who will control the
reconstruction of Iraq, the United Nations or the United States? We
also rapidly are approaching the International Donors Conference in
Madrid which is scheduled for October 27. The administration is
maintaining the position that we, not the U.N., must remain in control
of the Iraq process. This is the current situation. We in the Congress
are being asked to approve another $87 billion in American funds at a
time when we are filled with uncertainty.
{time} 2030
The questions that the Congressional Black Caucus have posed have not
yet been answered. We are uncertain about the role of the UN; we are
uncertain about what other nations will come forward to help pay the
costs and how much they are prepared to contribute.
What we can reasonably conclude is this: Unless the United States is
prepared to share power and control regarding the future of Iraq with
the United Nations, we cannot reasonably anticipate that other major
nations will be willing to share any substantial portion of the costs.
In addition, thus far we have seen very little reference in the
administration's proposals with respect to the appropriate use of
Iraq's own resources to help rebuild the Middle Eastern Nation.
I should also note that according to an examination the Marshall Plan
[[Page H9369]]
analogy, a report prepared by the minority staff of the Committee on
Appropriations, the $20-plus billion we are being asked to appropriate
far exceeds Iraq's need for humanitarian assistance.
Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the world, with 112
billion barrels of proven oil reserves and another probable 220 billion
barrels. At the current world market rate, the value of the proven
Iraqi reserves would amount to $2.8 trillion, together with another
$5.5 trillion in probable oil reserves. However, the administration's
supplemental request does not seem to contain any plans to utilize this
resource to cover the costs for building Iraq, as President Bush
suggested that we would do before we began this war.
Even those of us who are inclined to support U.S. assistance in
rebuilding Iraq must question the size of this request in the context
of our national priorities.
Mr. Speaker, I must also conclude that serious questions about our
motives would be raised abroad if we maintained unilateral control over
the reconstruction process while using Iraqi oil resources to pay part
of the cost.
Recall the core issue that we face, however: Who will control the
process, us, or the U.N.? Would not UN control of the rebuilding
process make the use of Iraqi resources far more acceptable, both in
Iraq and abroad? Would not UN participation reduce the cost to the
American people? Would not power sharing with the UN allow us to bring
our troops home faster? Would not the truly international process give
far greater legitimacy to the process and results of an Iraqi
reconstruction?
These, I submit, are serious questions that must be answered to our
satisfaction before we can justifiably appropriate more than $20
billion in additional American funds.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from the great
State of California (Ms. Lee).
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, first let me just say I rise tonight with my
Congressional Black Caucus colleagues, led by our very strong, wise and
courageous chairman, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings). I just
want to say thank you to the gentleman for once again ensuring that the
Congressional Black Caucus has the opportunity to put President Bush on
notice of our concerns with his $87 billion appropriation request to
fund the ongoing war in Iraq.
Now, the gentleman from Maryland referenced the Statement of
Principles which the Congressional Black Caucus actually put together
and released several weeks ago. I would like to reference, Mr. Speaker,
the Statement of Principles which we actually submitted in October of
2002 to put this in a bit more of a historical perspective.
In October of 2002, the Congressional Black Caucus issued the
following statement: ``We oppose a unilateral first-strike action by
the United States without a clearly demonstrated and imminent threat of
attack on the United States. Only Congress has the authority to declare
war. Every conceivable diplomatic option must be exhausted.
``A unilateral first strike would undermine the moral authority of
the United States, destabilize the Middle East region and undermine the
ability of our Nation to address unmet domestic priorities.
``Further, any post-strike plan for maintaining stability in the
region would be costly and would require a long-term commitment.''
That was in October of 2002.
Mr. Speaker, this money follows an initial $78 billion special
appropriation which I believe was passed in April and, of course, a
defense budget that already tops $368 to $370 billion. Those climbing
numbers are not only daunting in themselves, but they also represent
what is this second installment for the Iraq invasion, a process that
may be endless.
I reached this conclusion because this proposal provides no answers
to the questions that it begs, which our chairman just laid out, no
answers to the questions with regard to a timetable for Iraqi
independence and an exit strategy for American troops. None of the
answers to these questions have been provided. Before appropriating
another taxpayer dollar, I believe we must have an answer to each and
every one of these questions.
Mr. Speaker, some people will come to the floor and say that we must
support this Presidential request without question because we have to
support our troops. Well, Mr. Speaker, we all support our troops. As
the daughter of a career military officer, this is very important to
me, and I want to see them safe at home as soon as possible.
In the meantime, I want them to have the health benefits that they
deserve, the bulletproof vests that they need, and the basic supplies,
the toiletries, the basics that they need that really have been denied
to them. I want to know that our wounded receive proper treatment and
proper respect.
Our veterans deserve more than what they are getting. Disabled
veterans deserve full retirement benefits and their families deserve
full survivor benefits. They have made the ultimate sacrifice and need
to be strengthened in terms of survivor benefits. How can we possibly
do anything less?
I do not know where this first $78 billion went, but I support our
troops, and I think that we need to understand that this $78 billion
hopefully should have gone, we believe, to have supported our troops. I
am not sure what happened to that money.
So in supporting our troops, I think I can say very clearly that I do
not support the quagmire they are now trapped in. This $87 billion does
not come with a plan to get our troops out of Iraq or to create a real
transition to UN authority and then Iraqi independence. Instead, it
supports and extends the guerilla war, without an accounting of how we
got here or how we will get out.
The American people have a right to know the answers to these
questions before they are asked to spend one more penny on this war.
Accountability and transparency are among the fundamental principles
that we are trying to really impart as it relates to our policy to
Iraq.
How high will these bills go? Some experts tell us it could go as
high as $400 billion, or even higher. Accountability also demands that
we know who is making money off of the war. Billions of dollars are
going to Halliburton and to Bechtel and other corporations, many of
them, of course, with ties to this administration.
Now, I am very pleased that Dr. Martin Luther King's vision, his
perspective and his fight for peace and justice, has been part of our
debate, and I want to just mention another perspective and lesson that
Dr. King provided to us in the sixties. He warned us, and this was a
quote that Dr. King provided and gave us in terms of instruction, he
said, ``In the wasteland of war, the expenditure of resources knows no
restraints.''
Dr. King knew that war could be a bottomless pit into which this
great Nation could pour all of its resources, all of its young people,
and really never come out any safer nor any stronger.
So we need a map, and we need a timetable to really get us out of
this bottomless pit, and we need a clear transition strategy, so that
we can achieve these goals. We need a timetable, so that we have an
understanding of when we will get out.
Let me just say we need to also leave an Iraq that is stable and
secure in terms of a transition, but we need to leave. The Iraqi people
deserve to run their own country. The international community will be a
major part of that transition.
We have deep obligations, unmet needs here at home, which our
Congressional Black Caucus Statement of Principles laid out. We have
schools that need to be reconstructed. We have health care needs. Here
we have a country with 44 million people uninsured. We have health care
needs that must be expanded here at home. We have housing that needs to
be built.
We also have other obligations internationally, with 42 million
people in the world with HIV and AIDS. The administration has not even
come up with the full $3 billion to fight a disease that killed 3
million people last year. We have been fighting very hard for that this
year, and still cannot get that extra $1 billion.
According to the National Priorities Project in my home State of
California, taxpayers will be asked to contribute over $11 billion to
fund this supplemental appropriation. That
[[Page H9370]]
money could pay for $2 billion in school construction, over 7,500 new
affordable housing units, almost $2 billion in infrastructure projects,
and fund over 30,000 new firefighters and first responders. It would
provide health care coverage for over 1 million people, and, in the
process, create over 150,000 additional new jobs. So there are real
costs to our own country with regard to this very failed and misguided
foreign policy.
Finally, let me say in conclusion, yes, we must support our troops,
and let us support our troops by forging a transition strategy that
will get them home. Let us not blindly sign another blank check,
another installment on the President's foreign policy doctrine, and
this is what it really is, his foreign policy doctrine of preemption.
Over 300 Americans have died in Iraq, over 1,200 have been wounded, and
we do not have any real idea of how many Iraqis have died because the
Pentagon refuses to try to even count them. So let us find our way out
of this quagmire and out of this wasteland of war.
I want to thank the chairman again for his leadership and for this
special order. Again, we are here tonight to wake up America.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for her
statement. As you were talking, I could not help but think about the
call that I got the other day from one of my constituents who has now
been laid off from a factory that closed.
She saw the same national news story that I saw where several Iraqi
teachers were being paid, and we all welcome education and everything,
but what they said in the newscast and what she was so upset about is
the newscaster said they are now being paid six times what they were
earning before the war. She said it just hurt her so badly to see those
dollars being paid out, and yet she was about to be homeless.
So there is just something that I think the Caucus has consistently
emphasized. Along with being very supportive of our troops, we have
also used the word ``balance'' over and over again. We must approach
our family issues with balance, our lives with balance, the things we
do with balance. Clearly, I think the gentlewoman will agree with me,
what seems to be happening here is clearly out of balance.
One of the things we want the American people to keep in mind is that
we are not talking about just this $87 billion. We are also talking
about close to $80 billion that we just gave in the spring, and one of
the big questions that we put forth is when is the next request going
to come and how much will that be for?
Ms. LEE. That is right. As I said earlier, I believe that it is very
important that our troops are supported. This initial $78 billion
should have gone to support our troops, with all of the necessary
equipment and protective vests and everything that they need. We do not
know where that $78 billion went.
{time} 2045
We do not know where we are going with this. This is just the second
installment, and all of the estimates have been $400 billion-plus, 5
years-plus. We have got to say no to this, I would say to the
gentleman, I believe. I think that it is about time that we ask the
hard questions; and if we do not receive the answers, we must try to
figure out a way to ensure that America understands what the stakes are
and what the risks are.
Finally, with regard to education, yes, I can understand why this
young lady was very upset. We cannot even fund and have not funded
Leave No Child Behind. We promised the American people that we would
create some parity in our school system and a quality education for
young people, and that was probably rhetoric only. The reality is not
there. So this $87 billion, part of this certainly could go to ensure
that our young people have the best possible public education that we
can provide.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman also spoke about the
principles of the Congressional Black Caucus, and there were two sets
of principles as the gentlewoman referenced. We had one set of
principles that came prior to the war, and then we had another set of
principles that we agreed upon with regard to this $87 billion in
future spending. The man who really helped us pull all of that
together, who has just spent a phenomenal amount of effort in trying to
make sure that we put forth principles that made sense, that were
common sense, that we believe the entire Nation should be asking, was
our colleague, the gentleman from the great State of North Carolina
(Mr. Watt), and I yield to him.
Mr. WATT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman, the gentleman from
Maryland (Chairman Cummings), for yielding and for organizing this
Special Order this evening to talk about the Congressional Black
Caucus's position on the war and to make some commonsense points about
what that position should be and what the Congress's position should
be.
Based on what my colleagues have already said, it is quite apparent
that the Congressional Black Caucus has standing to be here for at
least two reasons. Number one, we have standing because only 34 out of
38 of our Members voted against the original war resolution, against a
backdrop where we had set out five clear principles that we would be
measuring the President's original request to delegate authority to him
to go to war against. And almost as if we had some crystal ball at that
time, the fifth of the five principles stated as follows: it said, any
post-strike plan for maintaining stability in the region would be
costly and would require a long-term commitment. It was as if we were
forecasting, even back in October of 2002, the exact circumstance in
which we find ourselves today.
We did not have any crystal ball; what we had was common sense that
told us if the President went this course alone without a worldwide,
international coalition, we were likely to be there by ourselves,
paying for the war and the postwar responsibilities by ourselves; that
we would destabilize what was already an unstable situation in the
Middle East even further, which has turned out to be the case.
Our own common sense in our communities says, hey, you simply do not
fight somebody unless you have exhausted every possible, conceivable
effort, short of fighting somebody. I mean, that is just a commonsense
rule of the street where many of us have had to exist. You just simply
do not go and fight somebody, and you do not go and make a unilateral
attack against somebody without a demonstrated, imminent threat that
somebody is getting ready to slap you or your mama. I mean, that is
basically commonsense principles that we outlined in October of 2002.
So we have standing to be here, not because we came to say we told
you so, but because we applied to our own voting pattern in the
original war resolution the principles that we thought were commonsense
principles that should govern our country. Unfortunately, this
administration failed to apply those principles; and, as a result, we
are here today.
Now, I want to zero in on several of the new eight principles that we
established a couple of weeks ago to evaluate the President's $87
billion additional request. First of all, we reaffirmed our commitment
to the original principles that we had adopted back in October of 2002.
We were not starting from scratch; we were working in a context where
if we knew that if the President had followed those original
principles, we would not be here today. But the second principle is
quite interesting, because despite the fact that the President had not
followed our principles, our second new principle was to say that
despite the President's failure to follow our original statement of
principles in his decisions leading to the war, we expressed our full
resolve to support and protect our troops and their families. So as
both of my colleagues who have spoken to this point have indicated,
there should be no question about our commitment to the troops.
But before we give a President who has already demonstrated that he
is inept and demonstrated that he is unwilling to follow commonsense
principles for an additional $87 billion, we think some other things
ought to happen.
First of all, we think this administration should provide an
accounting of all funds expended to date that were previously approved
by the Congress, including details about all contracts for work in or
related to Iraq. In my community, I do not know about my colleagues,
but in my community,
[[Page H9371]]
there are substantial questions being raised about how Halliburton can
end up with a contract in excess of $1 billion in Iraq, and now people
are asking, well, why can the Iraqi people not do some of this work? If
we are trying to help them, why is it that we are being so
paternalistic that only the United States can do the work; we will not
even hire any of them to do the work on the ground? We are hiring U.S.
companies, giving none of our small businesses, our minority businesses
the opportunity to participate in those work opportunities?
Our next principle was the President should provide sufficient
details about how the proposed funding will be spent to enable Congress
and its committees to evaluate separately funding proposed for the
protection and maintenance of our troops, which all of us agree is a
high moral imperative. Despite the fact that the President did this
unilaterally, our troops did not make that decision. We have got to
protect them. But we want a separate accounting of the money that is
going to be spent on the proposed rebuilding of Iraq.
Now, why do we want a separate accounting? Common sense again. We
have neighborhoods in our own country that have inadequate plumbing,
inadequate electricity. We had our own blackout. And if we are going to
provide assistance to Iraq, we ought to be focusing on providing
assistance in the same kind of settings in our own communities that we
are providing in Iraq. We ought to make sure that we are not giving
Iraq more than Iraq had before we even ever bombed there. At least show
us what it is that we destroyed by bombing them; maybe we have some
moral obligation to rebuild that part of Iraq. But for the life of me,
I cannot figure out why we would think Iraq would be a higher priority
to fund basic infrastructure than other countries with substantially
less per capita incomes.
There are many countries throughout this world that have a lot less
per capita income than Iraq, and there are a lot of countries that I
would get to helping and providing assistance to before I would get
down to Iraq, trying to provide this assistance solely against a
backdrop where we have gone in and bombed that country.
We think the President should provide an accounting of Iraqi
resources which we were told in advance the country was going to apply
to rebuilding Iraq. Iraq has probably got more oil under the ground
than most of the assets that we have here in our country. Why can they
not use their own assets to help pay for the cost of rebuilding? I
mean, that is just common sense. We try to tell people not to be
paternalistic. I mean, you have to want to help yourself before we want
to give you anything. That is what we have said to the American people.
That is what we have said to people on welfare right here in our
country. You got to get up and work yourself and use your own
resources, so why can we not apply the same principles to Iraq that we
apply here at home?
These are just commonsense principles, Mr. Speaker; and it is just
impossible for us to go back into our communities and say that we
should be doing this, providing another blank check to this President,
without a full accounting for the $79 billion that has already been
spent and without any accounting for how he is going to pay for the
additional $87 billion.
Now, we have been saying, all of us in the Congressional Black Caucus
have been saying for months that if this is a priority, then we ought
to pay for it as a Nation and not pass the debt along to our children.
Every dime of this $87 billion is going straight to the deficit and
coming straight from borrowed money. The effect of that is to pass that
obligation along to our children, rather than paying for it ourselves.
Now, who ought to be paying for it? I think who ought to be paying
for it is the people that we gave the tax break to this year who are
making over $150,000 to $200,000 a year. If they think this is a
priority, if the country thinks this is a priority, then let us pay for
it as a priority. So we think the tax cuts should be rolled back,
especially at the highest levels, and maybe even at the middle-income
levels, to have all of us share in the sacrifice, if we think this is a
national priority. Those are the kinds of questions that we have asked
this President to focus on and to provide attention to and to give us
information about as a condition for asking us to support an additional
$87 billion.
Mr. Speaker, I will say to my colleagues that this Congressional
Black Caucus has applied commonsense principles, the principles that we
grew up in our communities understanding and abiding by; the principles
that we have heard applied in our own country in communities by the
people who make decisions.
{time} 2100
You have got to be responsible yourself before we are going to be
responsible for you. And we think that is a good, good criteria to
measure this request against. And unless we get answers and responses
to these principles, these eight principles that we have set out to
evaluate this request against, I think you are going to see the
Congressional Black Caucus vote in as unified a fashion against the $87
billion request as we were against the original war resolution. And
that is where we should be out of responsibility to our constituents,
and our Nation, and our children, and the future of this country.
I thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) for convening this
Special Order and for yielding time to me. I could go further, but I
know there are other people who want to talk about this. And there are
some other important principles that I need to touch on, but I am sure
my colleagues are going to hit them before this Special Order is over.
Mr. CUMMINGS. I want to thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr.
Watt) for his statement. I am glad that you have over and over again
reminded all of us that these are just basic, logical, practical
questions that people would ask in any serious matter.
But I just wanted to emphasize one thing that you talked about when
you talked about how there were countries that were a lot worse off
that are not getting this kind of assistance. And I just reiterate
something I said a little bit earlier. Iraq has the second largest oil
reserves in the world, with 112 billion barrels of proven oil reserves
and another probable 220 billion barrels.
In the current world rate, the value of proven Iraqi reserves would
be about $2.8 trillion together with another $5.5 trillion in probable
oil reserves.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague, the gentlewoman from Michigan
(Ms. Kilpatrick), who has been at the forefront of our outreach as a
caucus and has pulled us together on this issue.
Ms. KILPATRICK. Mr. Chairman of our Congressional Black Caucus, thank
you for continuing to be the beacon as we speak out and remain the
conscience of the Congress and the conscience of our country. This is a
serious time for the world, a serious time for American people. As our
people struggle to raise their families, to feed them, to house them,
to clothe them, to send their children to institutions of higher
education, at a time when unemployment is the highest it has been in
several years, many people who have worked all of their lives find
themselves unemployed in this country.
So we as Members of the Congressional Black Caucus come to the
American people tonight to ask you to fax, to e-mail, to call and to
write your Congressperson, your U.S. Senator, and, yes, President Bush.
It has already been shown that over the last 2 weeks the American
people get this. Over 60 percent do not want us to spend $87 billion in
Iraq. Many of them want their own children, their own families, their
own communities to be able to participate in the American Dream.
And over the last 2 years, with over 3 million jobs lost across this
country, the people of America are crying out. And we, the Members of
the Congressional Black Caucus, come to you, America, and ask you to
speak up, to fax, to e-mail, to call, and to write the President, your
United States Senator, and your Congressperson and let us know how you
feel.
I am an appropriator. I sit on the Committee on Appropriations and I
am honored to serve there, one of two people from the State of
Michigan. Last May this Congress gave, as has been mentioned, $79
billion to the President, asking no accountability. And you know what,
American people? We have not gotten it, and that was our mistake. When
we let that money go in
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May, we should have asked for accountability. And the principles that
the Congressional Black Caucus adopted then and that we present to you
tonight, ask for a full accounting of the $79 billion.
The families of many of the people who are active in Iraq and
Afghanistan today have come to us and other Members of this body to say
that their sons and daughters do not have the training that they need
in such a situation, do not have the protective body armor they need to
protect themselves, and equipment; and they do not have what is needed
to fight such a war as this that the President declared was over a few
months ago. The war is not over. We are in a new phase of it.
And the $79 billion then, which was not spent for training and armor
and keeping the equipment up to date, the equipment is falling apart.
They have been fighting in the desert. The PXes where the soldiers get
their water, their personal items are almost empty. We have got to put
the money back in for that. The President asked for $87 billion more
just on September 7.
I am happy to say that this Congress, both the House and the Senate,
want to take a look at what he is asking us to do. You see, the $87
billion on September 7, and the $79 billion in May, is $166 billion.
There are 13 appropriations bills. This $166 billion is larger than
seven of those bills combined. We have had over 40 hearings on those
bills. So we must not rush to do this.
We must first protect our troops, give the soldiers what they need,
make sure we do what is right. And as an appropriator and as members of
the Congressional Black Caucus, we are committed to doing that. $166
billion over 6 months' time and we have soldiers who do not have the
protection they need to protect their lives? Many of our vehicles are
out of operable order.
Where has the money gone? That is what this Member wants to know.
Where has the money gone? How much money is really needed right now? I
support giving the government what they need, giving our troops what
they need. But we have not been given the documentation. Where is that
documentation? Where has the money gone? Why can we not get that
information?
And as we come to you tonight, America, we want you to ask those same
questions.
Appropriations, I sit on the Foreign Operations subcommittee, so I am
talking to you about what I know, what we get, the little we can sift
through and find. On the Foreign Operations subcommittee we have had
two hearings on the reconstruction money. As the President proposed it,
he asked for $20.3 billion. That is what the two hearings were held on.
Today it went into the Committee on Appropriations. Tomorrow morning I
understand the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) of the Committee on
Appropriations has reduced that by $2 billion. And his mark before us
tomorrow morning will be for $18 billion.
Is it needed now? Must we do it all now? Can we fund until January so
that we can get the information that this caucus has requested in our
principles? I believe that we have to demand that. And I believe that
you, America, have to demand that. Why would we build Iraq better than
Iraq was before we entered it, before we unilaterally struck them? Why?
Why would we build their roads and bridges and clean water and schools
and hospitals and justice system when our very same things are
crumbling? Why? Why will we give them a Cadillac at a time when our
people are unemployed and we need to help our citizens when we could
give them a Ford?
Most American people want to help them, but they do not want to do it
at the expense of our own country. That is what we have to talk about.
That is why we need the information. We do not have to rush for this
one.
Tomorrow morning in the Committee on Appropriations, and I will be
there, one of many Members discussing this supplemental bill that is
before us, why can we not bifurcate it? Why can we not get the details
that the troops need, the armies need, the vehicles, the weaponry they
need and funds for the next 3 months until the first of the year? That
would give us time to study this.
Why can we not look at the reconstruction money that is being asked
for and perhaps fund it for the next 3 months so that we can look into
the American people's money and at the same time fund those things that
families need? We as Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are
demanding that. As has been said already, we believe that we must help
the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and give them what they need to
fight this battle.
I am one who voted against a unilateral strike. We have always been a
country of defending ourselves. We have never unilaterally struck
another nation. And there was no imminent threat then. And now the
President has told us what we already knew, there was no imminent
threat, that we could have addressed this better. We could have worked
with the United Nations, 183 nations of the world, and had partners in
this effort. Yes, Saddam Hussein was a bad man. Yes, we are happy that
he is gone.
Iraq is not a poor country. Iraq has the second largest oil reserves
in the world. The value of those oil reserves are over $2 trillion.
Why, then, do we take our meager dollars at a time when American
citizens are suffering and families are out of work and our hospitals
are closing and our schools are crumbling? And what about our
blackouts? We had a blackout, America; do not forget that. Your State
may have been one of them. Mine certainly was. We have got to put our
electric grids back up. We have got to see that our power companies
invest back into the power system. I contend we can do both.
We have got to go back to the United Nations and try to get a
coalition. The Madrid Conference is coming up in a couple of weeks.
There we will find out what countries will come to the table and be
allies with us. We were told in appropriation that 61 small countries,
61 can only come up with $1 billion. And they want one country to come
up with $87 billion of your money? I do not think that is necessary.
And I think, America, the Congressional Black Caucus urges you to
write, fax, call and e-mail your Congressperson, your U.S. Senator,
and, yes, our President Bush, to let us know how you feel.
If we would freeze the highest 1 percent of Americans, the
millionaires, if we would freeze the tax cut that has been given to
them over the next 6 years, we could recoup $80 billion. This is a time
of giving. It is a time that we all must put in.
Terrorism we must rid in the world. And it is going to take a
collective, international effort to do that. We have got to do it at
the same time that we keep our families strong, that we keep our men
and women working and their families keeping their children together
and protecting our seniors, who today have to choose between eating and
getting their medicines, paying their rent and getting their medicines.
Why are we not talking about that?
Mr. President, this is not right. And we as Members of the
Congressional Black Caucus, you have our principles. Look at them. Talk
to us. It is our community too. It is our country too. And if we are
going to sustain ourselves as the world leaders that we are, if God is
going to protect us as we carry out the business of the country, I
think we need more time.
There is no need to push an $87 billion supplemental through in this
short period of time. So I thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr.
Cummings) for the leadership that he has provided. Thank you to my
brothers and sisters in the Congressional Black Caucus who remain the
conscience of the Congress. We come as 39 Members representing over 26
million people. Many of our districts are not majority African
Americans. Some are; some are not. We represent Arab Americans, Latino
Americans, European Americans, Native Americans. We have the microcosm
in our districts of America.
{time} 2115
And what we are here tonight to say to the American people, you have
to act. You have to speak now or forever hold your peace. This is
serious times for America, for our children, for our families and as we
live, and as members of the caucus who stood here and took the oaths,
we pledge that we will do our support, we pledge that we will uphold
this Constitution, and we pledge that we will represent to the very
best of our ability.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman. I so
often,
[[Page H9373]]
Mr. Speaker, after these special orders, we get calls and people say,
Why do you keep standing? Will you win? Do you think you can win? As
much as we like to win, I take the words of former Congressman Bill
Gray, he said, Even if we do not win this battle, we will set the
trend, and we will be the conscience no matter what.
Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining?
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Murphy). The gentleman from Maryland
(Mr. Cummings) has approximately 6 minutes remaining.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
Meek).
Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the members that
are here on the floor tonight of the Congressional Black Caucus. And I
must say that we speak fact, and really it is not emotions, it is fact.
And I am glad that many of the American people have responded in the
way that they have thus far.
Sixty percent of Americans do not stand with this administration and
many of the Members on the other side of the aisle, as it relates to
this $87 billion appropriations. I can tell you that every day I wake
up and I walk into this great Capitol of ours, this democracy that we
worked on for some 200-plus years, and I am just appreciative of being
a Member of this body.
Also, I am very glad that not only that the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Pelosi) but others have allowed me to serve on the
Committee on Armed Services and the Select Committee on Homeland
Security. I have two young children. I could be home with them, a
lovely wife, things of that nature, but I think it is important that we
take the time out, even though we worked all day to be here to share
with the American people the truth. And I think what is important, if
the record has been set in any other area, the education,
transportation, environment, that this administration and Members of
the other side of the aisle have set as it relates to misinformation,
not good information, failure, when we were told that we would be
successful, I think we need to take that to a very strong point.
I have to go back to Desert Storm some 10 years ago and our
investment in that particular effort. The cost of it was $61 billion,
$61 billion. We are looking at a supplemental now that is $87 billion.
And that is not $61 billion that we paid because our only share of that
was 12 percent which was $7.4 billion by the President's father,
President Bush, that had a coalition, a real coalition. And many of the
Arab states or the Arab league was there because Saddam Hussein needed
to be dealt with and those individuals in Iraq needed to be dealt with.
We just gave $79 billion, you heard my colleague on the Committee on
Appropriations, that has yet to be accounted for. Also, now we are
talking about $87 billion, which has now moved us Americans up to $166
billion.
Now, these are not small numbers. They are going to have an effect on
our economy. We talk about shock and awe in Iraq and that was pretty
good for about 4 or 5 months. And I must say that I commend our troops
and our men and women. I am not talking about the individuals in
uniforms. I am talking about the individuals that are wearing shirts
and ties, that are running around here on cellular phones, that are
holding press conferences, the Defense Secretary, the President of the
United States and even Members of this Congress that stand up and talk
about how they support the troops and how dare you question me, I,
Secretary, President, Vice President, on our efforts against the war on
terrorism.
I must say that I would be ashamed to hold a press conference knowing
that seven American soldiers, not coalition forces, seven American men
and women are injured daily in Iraq. I am not talking about the
numbers, over 177 troops have died since the President landed on the
aircraft carrier.
Let us talk dollars and cents for a moment. Let us talk about
appropriations. I am not on the committee but I am privy to the
information. The education budget for this year, just for 2003, $59.7
billion; transportation, $1.5 billion; homeland security, $35.8
billion, and we are here with no questions asked. Do not ask me any
questions or you are unpatriotic for an $87 billion appropriations to
continue the effort in Iraq.
I intend to vote against this appropriation. It is not the fact that
I disagree with the President or I disagree with the majority here in
this House. I am voting against it because I care about Leave No Child
Behind. I care about having roads and bridges. I care about our
environment. I care about that teacher that is probably home right now
checking papers of a classroom that he or she may have of 50 kids in
the classroom.
We are talking about when the terrorists win, the terrorists, as far
as I am concerned, they are sitting there saying, this is a wonderful
thing. I have America bent over borrowing money to prove me wrong. For
those who say we need to fight the war on terrorism in Iraq, so we do
not have to fight the war here, I do not think there are terrorists
sitting around saying, well, as long as they are in Iraq, we will focus
on Iraq. We are not going to focus on the United States of America.
I have mayors right now in Florida that are trying to figure out how
they are going to balance their budget because they do not have the
money to do it because they had to get new security for the water
plant, they had to put a police officer, not on the street preventing
crime or fighting crime, but protecting something. In this country, we
move the yellow, green, yellow, what have you, but we are not willing
to give them the necessary funds to function.
I want to share this, and then I will take my seat. How are we going
to pay for this amount that we have now? That question has not been
answered. We are going to borrow the money. It is going to cost us $28
million a week in interest. I think that is very, very important.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to say in closing that American people need
to pay very close attention, continue to ask your Members of Congress
what they are doing and the questions that they are asking.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman and the
members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking you
Chairman Cummings and the rest of my CBC colleagues for providing
leadership on this important issue to the American people.
Let me say at the outset that my fellow CBC members and I stand
behind the courageous men and women in the military and are deeply
grateful for their patriotism, courage and the sacrifices they are
making.
Whether it is the courageous Sergeant Shoshanna Johnson or the
several of my constituents that are laying their lives on the line for
the country they love, they are all owed our gratitude and support.
I agree with you and my colleagues Mr. Chairman--as well as a
significant number of my constituents who have sent me more e-mails
opposing the President's request to spend an additional $87 billion on
Iraq than on any other issue--that the administration should provide an
accounting of all funds expended to date that were previously
appropriated by the Congress, including details about all contracts for
work in or related to Iraq.
We can't give the president a blank check particularly since there
has been no real accountability for the already provided $63 billion
for Iraq. And especially with frequent reports of equipment failure,
and our men and women not getting the level of protection they should.
It is true that we have a responsibility to rebuild the
infrastructure in Iraq, with emphasis on ``re,'' but we must also
remember that we have many unmet needs here at home.
We need to make investments in health care and my colleagues on the
other minority caucuses and I are working on a comprehensive bill to
address the causes of health disparities in our communities which will
require at least the same $900 million proposed for health in Iraq, to
make the kind of investment in prevention, and control and treatment of
the chronic diseases and to close the gaps that are driving up the cost
of health care. And we need to include a comprehensive prescription
program and mental health party.
In my own area, my constituents are severely challenged when it comes
to access to health care because we have a large low income population
and a Medicaid program which places a cap on payments to us and
requires us to adhere to a local match which treats as though we were
one of the wealthiest areas of the country.
In announcing our statement of principles, we in the Congressional
Black Caucus, are
[[Page H9374]]
also very concerned about reports which suggest that the reconstruction
of Iraq is being done in a cost efficient manner through the
utilization of local Iraqis in the rebuilding process, for example,
which is apparently being rejected in favor of very expensive projects
that only certain companies can do. It is important that the American
people have the assurance that we are not, through this process, just
making friends of the Administration wealthy or more wealthy, which
appears to be the current goal.
If the President truly needs this money, then there should be no
problem or barrier to his giving the Congress and the American people
an accounting of how previously appropriated funds for Iraq were spent,
a plan for future spending and an exit strategy. And the administration
should be willing to pay for it out of the high end of the tax cut.
It is irresponsible for the President and his supporters to continue
to call for and threaten to increase tax cuts after getting us into
this war and rebuilding effort on flimsy evidence and with so many
needs here at home going unaddressed.
This Body gave a blank check before without adequate information. We
cannot and must not do it again.
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