[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 67 (Thursday, May 13, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H2999-H3000]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CONGRESS IS NOT A RUBBER STAMP

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, today the Committee on International 
Relations had a hearing on the Iraq transition. Actually, it was not so 
much a hearing as a briefing. While interesting, the real need for the 
Committee on International Relations and other committees of 
appropriate jurisdiction is policy development and oversight. I hoped 
ours would be the first in a series of oversight on the war in Iraq and 
the war on terrorism.
  Deferring to the administration might have been understandable, if 
questionable, in the aftermath of September 11, but certainly not 
today. Congress cannot afford to be a rubber stamp, nor can we continue 
to rely on the media to embarrass us to action.

                              {time}  1815

  Had we held today's hearing 2 years ago, Iraq, our troops, the world 
and American taxpayers would be better off today. We would have 
clarified that the challenge was never to win the battle and remove 
Saddam Hussein. That was a given, once the might of the United States 
was unleashed. The real challenge was winning the peace. For that, 
sadly, the leadership of the United States was unprepared.
  I will in the course of the official record submit questions for 
response from the Department of Defense and the Department of State, 
issues like the status of the new United Nations Security Council 
resolution, or getting the international donors to deliver the $2 
billion in outstanding pledges, and whether the United States is going 
to shortchange Iraq's needs after the transition to sovereignty like we 
have in Afghanistan.
  The most important question, however, for us as a committee and for 
individual Members of Congress is to see if we can play a role in 
improving this situation. Can we help the President, who is unable to 
think of any mistakes, understand, admit and even be candid about where 
he and his team have fallen short of the mark? Can we provide to the 
American public real budget numbers as we clearly see now a $300 
billion price tag emerging?
  The public demands an open and honest budget process. Can committees 
make it easier to get rid of the architects of this failed policy? Can 
we help place less emphasis on the shadowy military contractors and 
more emphasis on working through the nongovernmental organization 
community? I would note as an example the Mercy Corps operation, 
extraordinarily cost efficient and extremely effective in working with 
foreign nationals in trouble spots around the world. To the extent that 
we continue to use military contractors, can we in Congress rethink how 
it happens, clear up the ambiguities in law and policy and to have, 
finally, rigorous standards for performance and cost accountability? 
Can we help the administration avoid using artificial deadlines for key 
governance decisions based on our political calendar in the United 
States? Can

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we help train attention on the real threat, after all, which is global 
terror? Can we focus our resources and attention away from things that 
are, if not positively loopy, at least very low priority, like national 
missile defense, to have priority placed on homeland security and 
finishing the job in Afghanistan?
  It is time for this Congress to act like a coequal branch of 
government. Had we been doing that since September 11, we would have 
saved money, saved lives and enhanced our legitimacy and effectiveness 
around the world. Indeed, that world, Iraq and our troops all need us 
to do our job. Even the administration, while it may not recognize it, 
will be better off if Congress does its job.
  Today Secretary Grossman said that he appreciated references about 
American staying power in Iraq. I would say that the real key to 
staying power is the trust and confidence of the American people. The 
administration's performance and inability to acknowledge its mistakes 
is undercutting the confidence of the people I represent and the people 
I meet from around the country. I hope our International Relations 
Committee and other relevant committees in Congress do their job to 
help rebuild the confidence, so badly shaken, of the American people.

                          ____________________