[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 21, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1301]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATION ACT, 2006

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                               speech of

                           HON. DIANA DeGETTE

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 20, 2005

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2863) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 2006, and for other purposes,

  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Chairman, despite its claims to the contrary, the 
Bush Administration continues to be dishonest with the American people 
about the situation in Iraq. First, it leads our country into war with 
Iraq under false pretenses--a war that has already cost more than 1,700 
American lives and thousands more Iraqi lives. The Administration then 
refuses to admit that it does not have a viable plan to win the peace 
in Iraq and possesses no strategy for a withdrawal of United States 
troops. And most recently, while the President campaigns as a so-called 
``War President,'' he refuses to request funding for military 
operations in Iraq in his own budget, instead funding it through the 
emergency appropriations process, a tactic that allows the President to 
keep the high costs of war out of his budget.
  Although today Congress has the opportunity to insert some much-
needed accountability into the funding process, it will--like it has so 
many other times--function as a rubber stamp and approve another large 
funding bill--$45 billion--for Iraq without demanding answers from the 
Administration. Once this is approved, total funding for the military 
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan will reach a mind-boggling $322 
billion. And this certainly won't be the last of it. In fact, at 
current expenditure rates, the $45 billion will only cover the first 
six months of 2006, which means that Congress will be forced to approve 
tens of billions more in funding for Iraq in a matter of months.
  I believe it is critical that our country properly fund the 
operations in Iraq to ensure that our soldiers in the field have the 
equipment, munitions and protection they need and the benefits they so 
rightfully deserve when they return home. The majority of the $45 
billion will go directly to support our troops in the form of 
equipment, body armor, increased pay and improved benefits for them and 
their families. While I will vote for this $45 billion funding package, 
I am concerned that the Majority in Congress has once again rebuffed 
efforts to require the Administration to be honest with the people 
about the situation in Iraq. To date, despite repeated requests from 
members of Congress, the Administration refuses to provide any sort of 
timeline for the withdrawal of United States troops, will not account 
for much of the current funding to Iraq, and resists coming clean about 
the full cost of future military efforts in Iraq.
  At the same time the Administration and the Republican Majority in 
Congress unabashedly spend billions of dollars in Iraq without 
question, they make cuts to crucial domestic programs in the name of 
fiscal responsibility--cuts, which compared to the budget for Iraq, 
have a negligible impact on our country's deficit. In fact, funding for 
this misguided war so significantly dwarfs funding for domestic 
programs that if we were to take just a fraction of this spending 
package for Iraq, we could fully fund No Child Left Behind, the Small 
Business Administration loan program, Head Start, Medicaid, and 
numerous other programs that make a daily difference in the lives of 
Americans.
  I find it truly ironic that Congress will spend a good portion of 
this week discussing the alleged lack of accountability at the United 
Nations, but refuses to acknowledge the abrogation of all 
accountability and responsibility that has been allowed to occur for 
too long in its own backyard--at 16th and Pennsylvania. It is time that 
the Administration owns up to the situation it has needlessly thrust 
our country in--it needs to formulate and disseminate a strategy for an 
eventual U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and must be upfront with Congress 
and the American people about the future costs of military operations 
in Iraq.

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