[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E413-E414]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT FOR DEFENSE, THE GLOBAL WAR 
                ON TERROR, AND HURRICANE RECOVERY, 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 16, 2006

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4939) making 
     emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 2006, and for other purposes:

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to this bill, the 
largest emergency appropriations measure to ever be considered by the 
House of Representatives. I do so with great reluctance because there 
are several positive aspects to the bill, including resources for our 
dedicated troops. Despite these reservations, I oppose this bill 
because the Administration and the Majority in Congress have failed to 
provide adequate oversight and accountability for our operations in 
Iraq.
  Mr. Chairman, in four days we will mark the third anniversary of this 
tragic war, a war that

[[Page E414]]

I opposed from the beginning and which has already cost our country 
over $400 billion. Without a strategy for success or an end in sight, 
the Congressional Budget Office predicts the price tag for military 
costs alone will reach $600 billion by the end of this decade. The 
added costs of long-term healthcare for our veterans, reconstruction 
assistance, and economic aid will of course raise this figure 
exponentially, prompting some of our Nation's best economists to 
predict that the long-term costs of this war will rise as high as two 
trillion dollars. Meanwhile, the loss of our best and brightest young 
people can never be measured.
  Going into war without the approval and support of the international 
community and without a plan for the post-war occupation period has 
resulted in a Nation less secure now than at the end of major combat 
operations. Despite the heroic efforts of our military, and the 
hundreds of billions of dollars poured into Iraq, it is now on the 
brink of civil war. We've seen how disastrously this administration's 
strategy, or lack thereof, has played out in Iraq, and yet we continue 
to circumvent the normal budget process, putting hundreds of billions 
of dollars on the national credit card without any plan for success, 
any plan to begin the process of bringing our troops home, or any plan 
to turn Iraq over to the Iraqi people.
  Mr. Chairman, I voted in favor of our last emergency supplemental 
bill because, among other things, the bill instructed the Department of 
Defense to provide a detailed report to Congress of its military 
expenditures in Iraq and Afghanistan to finally allow us to track how 
the Administration was spending the taxpayer's money. Despite this 
language, the General Accounting Office reported in November numerous 
problems in DOD's processes for recording and reporting costs for 
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a result, the GAO found that 
neither DOD nor Congress can reliably know how much the war is costing, 
nor the details on how appropriated funds are being spent. The facts 
are not being made available and Congress is operating and 
appropriating without them.
  Congress is not fulfilling its responsibility to act as the steward 
of the National Treasury. I, along with several colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle, have cosponsored legislation that would restore 
oversight and accountability to our budget process. Several of my 
colleagues have called for hearings and investigations into how funds 
are being spent in Iraq. These efforts have been met with near-total 
resistance by the Majority leadership in the House, and by the 
administration. Time and again we who are elected to keep close watch 
over spending are being denied the necessary tools to do our jobs.
  The good in this bill is increased funding to address the crisis in 
Darfur, our fellow Americans affected by the tragedy of Hurricane 
Katrina and the language preventing the Dubai Ports deal from moving 
forward. I've supported these efforts in the past and were these 
provisions to be considered properly under normal budget procedures, I 
would support them.
  Whether or not Members support the war in Iraq, it's becoming clearer 
day by day that the President's policies are unsustainable. Without a 
change of direction and a clear plan for success, I cannot in good 
conscience continue to pass off trillions of dollars to our children 
and grandchildren to fund this debacle.

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