[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 20, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1210]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DECLARING THAT THE UNITED STATES WILL PREVAIL IN THE GLOBAL WAR ON 
                                 TERROR

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RUSS CARNAHAN

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 16, 2006

  Mr. CARNAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pledge my unwavering 
support of our troops, and of our efforts to fight terrorism around the 
world.
  However, I rise in strong opposition to the Bush administration's 
handling of the war and reconstruction in Iraq, as well as the 
Republican controlled Congress's inadequate oversight of the 
administration's policies.
  The International Relations Committee, on which I sit, has held only 
two hearings this year regarding Iraq--a woefully insufficient number.
  The committee and this Congress should be functioning more like the 
bipartisan Truman Commission did in the 1940s--a pro-troop, pro-
taxpayer, pro-American committee that conducted serious and meaningful 
oversight to ensure that our troops were supported and our tax dollars 
used wisely.
  That commission focused on two things: first, prewar and ongoing day-
to-day operations of World War II ``with a view toward exposing 
deficiencies so that corrective action could be applied''; second, it 
focused on postwar activities, including investigations of excess 
profits, fraud, mismanagement, and inefficiencies.
  It is irresponsible for this Congress to not investigate the 
President's lack of an exit strategy, and the fraud, waste, and abuse 
of U.S. tax dollars.
  Mr. Speaker, it is not only our constitutional obligation to provide 
real and meaningful oversight into the Bush administration's policies 
in Iraq, it is our patriotic duty to question the President's 
mishandling of this war and reconstruction.

                          ____________________