[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 64 (Monday, May 16, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E980-E981]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 1268, EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS 
ACT FOR DEFENSE, THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR, AND TSUNAMI RELIEF ACT, 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 5, 2005

  Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, every member of this House 
supports providing our troops, their families and the veterans who have 
returned from service in Iraq and Afghanistan. The on-going wars in 
Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as other active military and intelligence 
operations in other countries require planning, budgeting and 
congressional oversight to ensure the best and most effective use of 
taxpayer dollars in order to keep our troops and all Americans safe and 
protected.
  Unfortunately, the Conference Agreement on the Emergency Wartime 
Supplemental Appropriation, H.R. 1268, is a testament to poor planning, 
the complete absence of competent budgeting and, worst of all, the 
exploitation by this Congress of the needs of our troops to pass a grab 
bag of political pork and exploitive public policy. To add insult to 
injury, every dollar in this $82 billion bill is borrowed and will be 
added to our nation's debt--eventually paid for by future generations.
  My vote against this bill is a reflection of the inept, incompetent 
and deliberately misleading policies of the Bush Administration and the 
Republican controlled Congress. At every point in this war in Iraq, 
from pre-emptive war to the on-going occupation, there has been a 
shameless disregard for honesty and a complete failure of meaningful, 
constructive congressional oversight. With, almost 1,700 lives lost, 
thousands wounded, some $212 billion spent in Iraq and at least $65 
billion spent in Afghanistan to date, Americans should expect Congress 
to be engaged and conducting vigorous oversight, not playing political 
games.
  Where is the courage, or at least the outrage, among members of this 
House to stand up and say enough is enough. Let us pass an 
appropriations bill to provide the courageous U.S. servicemen and women 
risking their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan with the tools to protect 
themselves, achieve their mission and

[[Page E981]]

come home safely. Let us have the courage and discipline to dump the 
extraneous billions and the excessively extraneous policy add-ons. 
Instead, Congress has passed a pork-barrel bill that, for example, 
restores $592 million in funding to construct a new U.S. embassy in 
Baghdad that is not an emergency, could not be constructed during the 
on-going insecurity and was previously defeated in a vote in the House 
by a wide margin.
  Our nation is now in its third year with almost 160,000 troops 
occupying both Iraq and Afghanistan. Why was the $78 billion for 
military operations included in this emergency supplemental 
appropriation not included in the regular $400 billion FY2005 defense 
budget passed only months ago. That would have raised defense spending 
to almost $500 billion, but at least it would have honestly met our 
obligations to our troops. But foresight and proper planning are not 
the strengths of this White House and by budgeting properly it would 
have stripped the Republicans in Congress of a convenient legislative 
vehicle, a ``must pass'' bill as they refer to it, by which to 
supporting our troops is cover for attaching pork projects and 
politically motivated policies.
  This bill, regardless of the margin by which it has passed Congress, 
is a shameful example of politicians exploiting the needs of a nation 
at war and the warriors who are fighting this war to advance a narrow, 
ideological and exclusive political agenda. Since there is no money for 
Iraq in the 2006 federal budget we can expect another ``emergency 
wartime supplemental'' again in the near future and with it the same 
abusive process.
  Among the most egregious and offensive provisions of this bill is the 
attachment of disgraceful provision call the ``REAL ID.'' The provision 
adds a de facto national identification card to be paid for by state 
and local taxpayers. It is another multi-billion dollar unfunded 
mandate on taxpayers, as well as another example of Republican excess 
and complete disregard for competent policy making. The REAL ID will 
make it easier for the immigration officials to send persons fleeing 
political or religious persecution back to their persecutors and it 
builds a wall along portions of the U.S.-Mexico border with complete 
disregard for all laws, including environmental regulations. 
Furthermore, because the legislation calls for national driver license 
standards to be implemented by states, it all but guarantees that more 
untrained and tested drivers will be driving on our streets, roads and 
freeways. This is not an anti-terrorism provision, it is simply more 
political grandstanding at the expense of the American taxpayer and 
hard working families.
  There are some good aspects of this bill which I do support strongly. 
In addition to the needed funding for our troops, there is critical 
foreign assistance which I support. This includes funds for victims of 
the Indian Ocean tsunami, humanitarian assistance to the victims of the 
genocide in Darfur, funds to support the African Union peacekeeping 
operation in Sudan, economic development for the Palestinian people, 
international food aid and other bilateral assistance to critical 
allies. These are proper and needed uses of America's wealth to create 
stability, security and save lives around the world.
  We are at a critical time in our nation's history. The current levels 
of deficit spending to sustain the wars, occupations and reconstruction 
efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, almost $300 billion to date, plus the 
long-term needs of veterans, is not sustainable and is fiscally 
dangerous.
  My strong and unwavering support for America's fighting men and 
women, as well as for our veterans remains steadfast. My opposition to 
this legislation is a demonstration of my lack of confidence in the 
Iraq policy and my disgust with the irresponsible fiscal policies of 
this White House and Republican controlled Congress. The needs and 
priorities of the American people must come before the shortsighted 
political advantages of the majority party. The priorities in 
Washington must change and I will continue to fight to put our troops 
and our families first, not use them as a political excuse.

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