[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 12 (Monday, January 22, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H819-H826]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BLUE DOG COALITION
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Ross) is recognized
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening on behalf of the 44-member
fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition. Each week we come
to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to discuss with you
and the people of this Congress, Mr. Speaker, about the need to restore
fiscal discipline and common sense to our national government.
We speak of the need for accountability. Why? Because today the U.S.
national debt is $8,710,232,192,210; and, we ran out of room on the
poster, but if you want to be exact about it, 43 cents. And for every
man, woman, and child living in America today, their share of the
national debt as of tonight is $29,061.20. It is what those of us in
[[Page H820]]
the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition refer to as the debt tax,
D-E-B-T, which is one tax that will never go away until we get our
fiscal house in order.
Mr. Speaker, as you walk the halls of Congress, it is easy to detect
when you are walking by an office of a fellow Blue Dog member, because
you will see this poster reminding Members of Congress and reminding
the American people of the fiscal recklessness that we have witnessed
all across this Nation for the past 6 years. The American people have
spoken, the American people have given the Democrats an opportunity to
lead this Chamber, and we are determined as members of the fiscally
conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition to getting our Nation's
fiscal house in order and restoring fiscal discipline and common sense
to our national government.
The Blue Dog Coalition is about accountability. And, Mr. Speaker,
tomorrow, on Tuesday, many members of the Blue Dog Coalition will be
filing a resolution for the 110th Congress, a resolution providing for
Operation Iraqi Freedom cost accountability. I want to thank the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Patrick Murphy) for his work on this,
a veteran of the Iraqi war who will be joining us later this evening on
the floor.
This evening, as members of the Blue Dog Coalition, we plan to talk
about providing for Operation Iraqi Freedom cost accountability. You
ask people what they think about this postwar Iraq policy, you ask 100
people, you get 100 different ideas about how we ought to do it. One
thing is for sure, everybody believes that we need to move in a new
direction.
But, Mr. Speaker, one of the things that really makes me proud to be
an American is that, unlike Vietnam, and I believe one of the painful
lessons to come out of Vietnam is this time, this time at least, we are
getting the support for soldier part of this right, because I see us
all, not as Democrats and Republicans, but as Americans first. And what
I have witnessed this time around has been truly amazing and has made
me proud to be an American, and that is that everyone, regardless of
how they feel about the war in Iraq, regardless of whether they are a
Democrat or a Republican, everyone in America for the most part has
stood united in support of our men and women in uniform.
I couldn't help but notice the plane I was on today from Little Rock
to Atlanta had about a half dozen soldiers heading to Iraq, and I had
the opportunity to shake their hand and thank them for their service to
our country. I noticed others doing the same when I was changing planes
in Atlanta. There were a lot of soldiers today in Atlanta headed for
Iraq.
Mr. Speaker, personally I am opposed to this surge. I think that is
not a new direction, I think it is more of the same. But as members of
the fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition, we didn't take
a position on that because everyone needs to represent the views of
their district, and everyone needs to speak from their heart.
We have approached this, Mr. Speaker, from an accountability
standpoint. And, Mr. Speaker, I would like to read to you this
resolution so you will know exactly what is in it, and you will know
exactly what the fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition
stands for and what we are talking about, and then a number of Blue Dog
fellow members will be joining me in this Special Order to discuss
various aspects of this.
But resolution providing for Operation Iraqi Freedom cost
accountability says:
Whereas it has been nearly 4 years since Operation Iraqi Freedom
began;
Whereas our military personnel have performed with honor and bravery,
and deserve the support of all Americans;
Whereas more than 3,000 American military personnel have been killed
in Operation Iraqi Freedom and more than 20,000 have been injured;
Whereas the United States has spent nearly $400 billion in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom;
Whereas the United States has spent tens of billions of dollars
paying private contractors for services performed in Operation Iraqi
Freedom;
Whereas government investigations and media reports have detailed
waste, fraud, and possible war profiteering by some of these
contractors;
Whereas American taxpayers deserve a detailed cost accounting for
funds spent in Operation Iraqi Freedom;
Whereas instead of the normal budgetary process, the administration
has used emergency supplemental appropriation bills to fund Operation
Iraqi Freedom;
Whereas the normal appropriations process gives Congress greater
oversight concerning both the need for and use of budgeted funds;
Whereas the annual need to budget substantial funding for Operation
Iraqi Freedom is not unanticipated within the meaning of section 502 of
the fiscal year 2007 budget resolution, and further funding for
Operation Iraqi Freedom should be attained through the normal budgeting
process;
Whereas since coalition forces removed Saddam Hussein from power,
success in Operation Iraqi Freedom has depended upon an active and
effective partnership between coalition forces and the Government and
people of Iraq, a partnership that provides indispensable leverage to
the coalition's financial, military, and political investments;
Whereas Iraqis must assume principal responsibility for internally
policing Iraq, failing which past, present, and future coalition
investments will not lead to security in Iraq and Iraq will dissolve in
chaos.
Let me read that again: Whereas Iraqis must assume principal
responsibility for internally policing Iraq, failing which past,
present, and future coalition investments will not lead to security in
Iraq and Iraq will dissolve in chaos. In other words, we are in this
together, and it is time for the Iraqi people to step up to the plate
and assume more accountability and responsibility for the internal
policing of Iraq.
Now, therefore, be it resolved that; and this is what the Blue Dog
Coalition's accountability measure is about: Within 30 days after the
adoption of this resolution, and every 90 days thereafter, the
Department of Defense Inspector General and the Special Inspector
General for Iraq Reconstruction shall prepare and transmit to Congress
an unclassified report, but with a classified annex if necessary, that
would contain:
Number 1. A detailed accounting of how military and reconstruction
funds in Iraq have been spent thus far; $400 billion of tax money from
the hardworking people of America has gone to Iraq, and they deserve to
know how that money has been spent in support of our men and women in
uniform in support of this new Iraqi Government;
Number 2. A detailed accounting of the types and terms of contracts
awarded on behalf of the United States, including the methods by which
such contracts were awarded and contractors selected;
Our cities and counties all across this Nation are expected to
advertise for bids and award bids based on the lowest bid they receive
for services rendered for what they are looking for. Our Federal
Government should not be any different.
Number 3. A description of the efforts to obtain support and
assistance from other countries toward the rehabilitation of Iraq;
And, number 4. An assessment of what additional funding is needed to
complete military operations and reconstruction efforts in Iraq,
including a plan for security of Iraq, a detailed plan for how any
future funds will be spent, and a statement of how those funds will
advance the interests of the United States in Iraq.
That is one point.
The second point:
If either Inspector General fails to submit a quarterly report, the
Government Accountability Office shall conduct an audit and report to
Congress.
Sanctions shall be imposed against contractors who have engaged in
fraud or abuse or war profiteering.
Congress should create a Truman Committee to conduct an ongoing study
and investigation of the awarding and carrying out of contracts by the
United States to conduct activities with regard to Operation Iraqi
Freedom, and make such recommendations to the House as the select
committee deems appropriate.
Funding requests for Operation Iraqi Freedom in fiscal year 2008 and
beyond must come through the regular appropriations process, and not
through so-called emergency supplementals.
[[Page H821]]
No more hiding the cost of the war.
In furtherance of the partnership that is critical to success in
Operation Iraqi Freedom, the administration should firmly condition
further American financial, military, and political resources upon
steady improvement in Iraqi assumption of principal responsibility for
internally policing Iraq.
{time} 2045
That is the resolution that many members of the Blue Dog Coalition
will be filing, a resolution endorsed by the 44-member strong, fiscally
conservative Blue Dog Coalition, with the Clerk of the House on Tuesday
or Wednesday of this week. I just read it in detail, word by word, so
the American people, Mr. Speaker, will know exactly what it is that we
are offering up.
It is not complicated. It is not partisan. It is not about whether we
should or should not be in Iraq and about whether we should or should
not leave tonight or tomorrow, next month or next year. It is about
being accountable for the $400 billion that has already been spent in
Iraq, and God knows how much more will be spent in Iraq, and the
American people, the hardworking people of this country that get up, go
to work, work hard and pay taxes, deserve to know and have a full
accounting for how their money is being spent in Iraq.
That is what this resolution is all about. It is what the Blue Dog
Coalition is all about. It is about standing for responsibility,
transparency and accountability and in getting our Nation's fiscal
house in order so we can see this number, Mr. Speaker, the national
debt, begin to trend downward, because as long as we are spending a
half a billion dollars a day paying interest on the debt we have
already got, before we increase it another billion dollars a day, many
of America's priorities will continue to go unmet.
We have got to get our fiscal house in order because, you know what,
coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan and other parts of the world is a
whole new generation of veterans. It is our duty in these United States
to be there in support of our veterans, to be there in support of our
men and women in uniform, regardless of whether they are serving us in
Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere across the globe.
We can have differences of opinion with the President on Iraq and his
Iraq policy, but what makes me proud to be an American is that we are
standing together in support of our men and women in uniform.
Mr. Speaker, we have got a number of folks that have joined me this
evening to talk about accountability in this Iraq War, and at this
time, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott).
Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Ross very much. It is
always a pleasure to be on the floor with you and my other colleagues
in the Blue Dog Coalition.
I would like to maybe start just responding to what we are doing so
that we can set the stage properly for the American people who are
watching to understand why we are doing this and the important
confirmation that we have for doing it that is embedded deep in the
Constitution of the United States.
The question on what role does Congress have in this has been put
before pundits and before commentators, news articles once the
President made his statement about the surge, and I, too, want to go on
record as saying that I oppose this surge, almost exclusively because
of the strain that it is placing on our military, which is already
overstrained, and taking our young men and women and not only just
putting them in harm's way, but placing them in the cross-hairs of a
civil war.
But fundamentally, as I mentioned earlier, what this legislation is
that we are here to bring some transparency and to bring some
understanding of how the taxpayers' money is being spent is embedded,
as I said early, deep into the Constitution.
Now, I want everybody to understand that when we put forward this
bill, we are not putting it forward based upon what we feel like today.
We are putting this forward so that we can be responsive to the job
that we were created to do.
In Article I in Section 8 of the Constitution, it states clearly,
when that question was put to James Madison and to Alexander Hamilton
at the beginning of the formation of the Continental Army, the fight
for the freedom of this country at the very beginning, the question was
this: Who has the authority to declare war; who has the authority to
raise and support our military? Here is what it says in Article I,
Section 8, that was written well over 200 years ago.
Article I, Section 8, gives Congress, not the White House, not the
executive branch, not the President, it says clearly it gives Congress
the power to ``raise and support armies.'' Those words are in there. In
other words, it gives Congress the exclusive power to appropriate the
funds for war and then to determine the manner in which those funds are
handled and used.
That is what undergirds our resolution that we are putting forth as
Blue Dogs and as Democrats and as Republicans, because I believe that
we will get bipartisan support for standing up and finally allowing
this Congress to do what the Founding Fathers put us here to do.
Just for a moment, our war in Iraq has been prosecuted at a
tremendous cost to our Nation, a tremendous cost in terms of especially
our soldiers' lives, and we cannot thank our soldiers enough for the
sacrifice that they have given, but also the strain that it has placed
on their families through repeated and increasingly hefty deployments,
wear and tear on our equipment and, of course, the taxpayers' money.
That is what the Founding Fathers said when they said raise and
support our Army. They just did not say tax the money. It did not say
that. It said raise and support, which means put your arms around it
and make sure you take care of your Army.
I will tell you, up to this point this Congress has not done so. The
strain on our military is extraordinary. Our service members, as we
know, are all volunteers. They and their families are more than willing
to sacrifice, as they have and as they will continue to do, for the
good of our Nation, and the American public at large is also willing to
allow its tax dollars to be spent on a worthy cause. However, we in
Congress owe it to the whole country to make sure that our service
members are not sacrificing needlessly in Iraq and Afghanistan, and
that tax money is not being squandered.
The American public and Members of Congress have largely not been
aware of exactly where the money is going, where the funding that we
are providing has been going, and there is widespread reports of
contractor fraud. There is bribery, there is waste, there is theft of
reconstruction funds for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the
reason it has been is because we have not fulfilled Article I in
Section 8 which gives Congress the power to raise and support our
armies and determine how this money is being spent, because this
Congress, up to now, has rolled over and given this President
everything he asked for without asking the questions because they have
allowed him to use the emergency supplemental funding process.
For those in America and those on C-SPAN, what that means is that
that is a type of funding that prohibits us in Congress from doing
exactly what the Founding Fathers said we must do in Article I, Section
8, of the Constitution, and that is to raise and support armies and
determine how this money is being spent.
It is because this administration has used the dubious practice of
emergency supplementals to fund the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan
away from congressional oversight, that is why we have had fraud.
That is why we have had bribery. Emergency supplementals do not go
through the normal budgeting and appropriations cycle.
The administration has also not been forthcoming in providing the
detail as to what specifically the funds in the supplemental budget
request is being used for, and as a result, Members of Congress
typically have not had the opportunity to scrutinize the request
thoroughly. Supplementals are considered on an expedited basis and
basically a sight unseen.
That is why what the Blue Dogs are doing with our resolution is so
important. It pulls the covers off and it says let the Congress do the
job that the Founding Fathers put us here to do.
One more point I want to make in the Iraq Study Group report that
came
[[Page H822]]
out, it recognized this problem, and it mentions briefly the issue of
budgeting for Operation Iraqi Freedom, and specifically they
recommended that funding be placed back in the regular budget process,
away from the supplemental, saying that this should be done to increase
transparency and accountability. The Blue Dogs are taking that
recommendation and doing with it what was recommended, and for those of
you that have that report, you might find that recommendation on page
59 and 60. It is recommendation 72.
So, to correct this problem, we in the Blue Dog Coalition are
introducing this bill. As Mr. Ross said, we will be doing it later this
week. This bill will allow the Members of Congress the time and the
information required to provide proper oversight of defense spending
and contracting, and it will allow us the time to apply the new PAYGO
rules recently passed by the House of Representatives, and, most
importantly, it will allow the American people, that is what this
election was about, it was about this country and this country taking
this country back and putting into practice those things that the
Founding Fathers gave us to do, and in the process the American people
will become more fully educated on the true costs of this war and the
sacrifices they are making and make sure that this money goes where it
is supposed to go, and will hopefully, prayerfully bring our sons and
daughters, our husbands and our wives, our fathers and our mothers back
home safe as soon as we possibly can and end this war.
Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Georgia and
would invite him to stay and continue this conversation with me this
evening during this Special Order that is being hosted by the fiscally
conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition.
Mr. Speaker, if you have any comments, questions or concerns for us,
you can e-mail us at [email protected]. Again, you can e-mail us
at [email protected].
One of the new Members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog
Coalition comes to us from the State of Pennsylvania, and that is
Patrick Murphy, a veteran of the Iraq War who was very involved, as I
mentioned at the beginning of the discussion this evening, in helping
to carefully craft this resolution to demand accountability for how the
tax money of the people of America is being spent in Iraq while
continuing to remain steadfast in our support of our soldiers.
At this time, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Patrick
Murphy).
Mr. PATRICK MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the
gentleman from Arkansas for this opportunity and for allowing me to
serve on that task force that we formed to present this bill this week,
this Operation Iraqi Freedom cost accountability resolution.
As I was seeking to prepare my remarks, I could not help but think
about Mr. Scott from the great State of Georgia when he talked about
that Constitution. That is the Constitution that every soldier, every
airmen, every marine takes note to support and defend against all
enemies, foreign and domestic. I appreciate that.
That is the Constitution I had the great opportunity to talk about
and teach about every single day at the United States Military Academy
at West Point, and talking about those first three articles of our
Constitution that lays out the framework, that separation of powers
that we talk about. There is a reason why Article I was the Congress
and Article II was the President and Article III was the judiciary.
Those two main goals of the U.S. Congress is to, one, declare war;
but two is the purse strings, that budget that you talked so eloquently
about. So I appreciate you bringing that up, and I hope we can make
this happen this week. I do believe that we will get many of our
colleagues, not just on our side of the aisle, but also on the other
side of the Chamber as well.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the war in Iraq, and I want
to talk today because the Blue Dogs, the Blue Dog Democrats, the
fiscally conservative Democrats, stay focused on two things: one,
fiscal responsibility; and, two, a strong national defense. The
legislation that we are discussing this week, which I will have the
opportunity to introduce, tackles both of these issues.
Mr. Speaker, we have spent over $360 billion in Iraq over the course
of the last 4 years.
{time} 2100
Along with the casualty reports and the terrible news on the ground,
we are getting reports about money lost and weapons missing.
Last week, as a member of the Armed Services Committee, we heard from
Stuart Bowen, the Special Inspector General for Iraqi reconstruction.
He told those of us at the hearing that as much as 15 percent of the
billions of dollars that we were spending in Iraq has vanished, and as
many as 14,000 weapons sent to the Iraqis have gone missing because of
mismanagement and fraud. That is enough weaponry to arm an entire
division of the al Sadr militia. This isn't just about money; it is
about the safety of our troops as well.
Mr. Speaker, it is long past time that we kept track of the money and
the weapons that we are giving to the Iraqis and to replace the fraud,
waste and abuse with proper oversight, responsibility and
accountability.
The legislation that the Blue Dogs are introducing this week
addresses the glaring lack of oversight and accountability in Iraq and
addresses how our taxpayer dollars are spent on the war. It puts
forward commonsense proposals that ensure fewer resources are wasted
and more resources get to the troops in the field.
This bill contains measures everyone can agree on, regardless of
their political party. American families are frustrated with the war in
Iraq, and this legislation will go a long way toward providing some
meaningful solutions.
Another thing that this legislation does is urge the establishment of
a Truman Committee-type commission to track and curb the waste, fraud
and abuse in Iraq. In the 1940s, then-Senator Harry Truman established
a committee that wasn't very popular at the time. Senator Truman's work
reportedly saved $11 billion, and eventually landed him on the cover of
Time magazine.
Now, Mr. Speaker, none of us here, none of us Blue Dogs here, are
looking to be on the front of a magazine cover; but we are looking for
an end to the mismanagement in Iraq and in the war.
As you know, this issue hits very close to home for me. I served in
Baghdad, Iraq, in 2003 to 2004 as a member of the 82nd Airborne
Division, Second Brigade Combat Team. On our team, we lost 19 men, men
that made the ultimate sacrifice. Part of what we did in Iraq was to
train the Iraqi National Defense Corps.
At the time that we were training them back in that summer of 2003,
they didn't have uniforms, so we took the initiative to give them hats,
Chicago White Sox hats, so that we could identify them as a unit. They
didn't have uniforms. There was no oversight. There was no thought
process. But our soldiers on the ground took the initiative to at least
give them something that would distinguish them.
At our hearing, Special Inspector Bowen revealed one example of $75
million so grossly mismanaged by the Iraqi Police Academy that it had
to be knocked down before it was even put to use. That is $75 million
in American taxpayer money that is just thrown to the wayside.
Mr. Speaker, it is time for answers, and it is time for
accountability.
Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania, a
veteran of the Iraqi war, a new member of the fiscally conservative
Democratic Blue Dog Coalition, for not only joining us for this Special
Order this evening on demanding accountability of the American people's
tax money and how it is being spent in Iraq, but also playing a very
important role in helping draft, carefully craft and write this
resolution that the Blue Dog Coalition has endorsed and will be filed
as a House resolution on the floor of this House this week. I thank the
gentleman from Pennsylvania again for his work on that and for his
service to our country.
At this time I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois, Ms. Bean,
another very active member of the Blue Dog Coalition, someone who comes
to
[[Page H823]]
this town and demands fiscal accountability and responsibility like we
are doing here on the floor of the House this evening.
Ms. BEAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. It
is always a pleasure to join my Blue Dog colleagues on the House floor.
The Blue Dogs were formed with the intention of always demanding
accountability and oversight, particularly relative to our national
budget. We are out here pretty regularly talking about the $8 trillion
national debt. You have the number right next to you, Mr. Ross. That
has really ballooned out of control.
We talk about PAYGO budget rules, which we were glad to lead our
caucus into passing through the House so we can start to bring some
fiscal sense back to this Congress in the same way that our taxpayers
and constituents have to bring to their home budgets and their business
budgets. They deserve the same level of accountability with their tax
dollars and the way we spend them here.
That applies to the entire budget. There is no more important
priority than ensuring the safety of our troops and our Nation. So it
is almost incomprehensible that billions of dollars of the roughly $400
billion that has been spent on the war in Iraq goes unaccounted for.
Congressman Murphy just spoke to that. He talked about it is not just
dollars unaccounted for, but weapons as well. So there is a serious
safety issue for our troops. Therefore, I was proud to join my Blue Dog
colleagues as a cosponsor of this Iraq war cost accountability
resolution that I believe we are introducing on the floor tomorrow.
Before I talk about the resolution itself, I just wanted to mention
another one of our colleagues who is not with us today, Congresswoman
Jane Harman, who recently had an op-ed piece that she entitled ``Stop
Conducting the War Off the Books.'' She talked about how the emergency
supplemental that the President has said he will be bringing to this
Congress will be the sixth emergency supplemental for this war. She
also talks about how our own last year's budget resolution defined
``emergency'' as only spending that is ``sudden, unforeseen or
temporary.'' While certainly supporting our troops is urgent and
important, it is not sudden, when we are almost 4 years and $400
billion into this war.
I think she makes a good case that we all support, who are on this
resolution, getting these requests into the budget, and that one of the
reasons they have been called emergencies when they haven't been
unforeseen or sudden is that doing so exempts the President from
spending caps and from counting the hundreds of billions of dollars
that have been spent on the war in Iraq in our deficit.
What that really is, it is dishonest accounting. We are not asking
all Americans to join Congress in making the hard decisions about what
the cost of this war should mean relative to a shared sacrifice. So by
doing it off the books, we are not engaging in the dialogue we really
should be having.
This resolution that we are introducing tomorrow will require four
things: first, accountability and oversight, not only for our own
spending, but also what we are doing to urge other countries and allies
to participate and what their spending would be. It will talk about
dollars already spent and how they have been spent and whether we have
accomplished what we set out to do. Also important is it will include
sanctions for contractors that have engaged in fraud, abuse or war
profiteering.
The second thing it will do, as Congressman Murphy alluded to, is
create committees akin to the Truman Committee that will, again, look
at all contracts awarded and also the method of how those contracts are
awarded to ensure we are getting the best return on our tax dollars.
Third, it will require, as I just alluded to, the on-budget
accounting of the war. No more emergency supplementals. But it will
require that the war in Iraq, starting in fiscal 2008 and beyond, any
requests for funding must come through the regular appropriations
process, with the oversight and accountability that goes along with
that.
The fourth thing that this resolution does is it states how important
it is for Iraq to be moving forward in assuming the principal
responsibility for their own internal security. It will require that
the administration should condition further American financial or
military support upon steady improvement in Iraqi progress toward that
end.
I am very proud to join my colleagues on this resolution. I think the
American public should expect no less from this Congress. I am hopeful
that we are going to have bipartisan support on this resolution, as we
have on some of the things we have been introducing in the first 100
hours in our new majority.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for letting me join him.
Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I thank an active member of the fiscally
responsible Blue Dog Democrat Coalition, the gentlewoman from Illinois,
Melissa Bean, for being a part of this discussion this evening to talk
about the Blue Dog Coalition's resolution to demand accountability for
how tax money is being spent in Iraq, just as we do here at home
through our Blue Dog 12-point plan for budget reform.
This resolution will be filed on the floor of this House this week as
the Blue Dog Coalition demands this administration to be accountable
for how your tax money, Mr. Speaker, is being spent in Iraq.
At this time I yield to the gentleman from New York, a new member of
the Blue Dog Coalition, someone who has come here and been a very
active member of our coalition and has been doing a lot to help us with
this resolution, and that is the gentleman from New York, Mike Arcuri.
Mr. ARCURI. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Arkansas.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong opposition to this
administration's call for 21,000 new troops in the surge in Iraq. As
one of three New Yorkers in the Blue Dog Coalition, I am very proud of
the position that the Blue Dog Coalition takes with respect to
identifying issues of fiscal responsibility. They have done that very
thing with the war.
There are many, many reasons why we shouldn't be involved in the war
in Iraq, and the Blue Dogs have pointed out one additional reason for
that in terms of the cost that this war has and the way it has burdened
our country.
When I talk to people in my district, they always ask me, why are we
spending so much money on the war, when we have such great needs for
education or for health care or for housing? Those are all issues that
people are very concerned about; yet we continue to spend billions and
billions of dollars on a very unpopular war.
My other concern with respect to this war and this operation in Iraq
is the fact that our Army is an army that is a volunteer army, which
means that in order for us to continue to defend our country and to get
the numbers that we need in the Armed Forces, we need to have high
numbers of volunteers. Yet with this protracted engagement that we are
involved in now in Iraq, it continues to lower morale and makes it more
and more difficult to attract troops and to attract recruits to our
military.
I am very humbled when I hear my colleague Patrick Murphy, a real
patriot, a veteran of Iraq, get up here and speak and talk from his
heart about the things that he experienced while he was in Iraq. It
concerns me, because I believe that this war and this engagement in
Iraq is doing more to hurt the morale of our military than any other
operation that we have seen in recent history. It concerns me because I
hear different anecdotal stories from people in my district. There is
one I would like to share with you.
Mr. Speaker, a constituent of mine who was a very patriotic young man
enlisted in the armed services and actually did three tours of duty. He
did one in Afghanistan and two in Iraq. He was wounded and received the
Purple Heart and received a Bronze Star.
After his last tour in Iraq, he was ready to leave the military. He
talked to his people in his outfit, and they asked him if he would stay
and help to train troops in a non-deployment type of position
stateside. Being the patriotic person that he is, he agreed to do that.
The problem for him was that because of the buildup and because of
the steps that are being taken now, he was
[[Page H824]]
told that he would no longer be able to continue in a nondeployment
type of position, but would rather have to go into a third tour of duty
in Iraq. It put a huge strain on him. It put a huge strain on his
family.
These are the kinds of concerns that we have when it comes to the
morale and when it comes to the future of our military.
{time} 2115
And speaking from myself, I would just like to say that I believe
that this type of action and this type of activity puts a huge strain
on our military.
I strongly support the efforts of the Blue Dog Coalition because I
believe that they point out the things that we need to do as a country.
We are talking about a resolution that will create a Truman type of
committee that will help to oversee efforts and oversee different
actions which are taking place by different contractors in Iraq. So I
am very pleased to be here today to talk on behalf of the Blue Dog
Coalition.
Mr. ROSS. I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Arcuri), a new
Member of this Congress, a new member of the Blue Dog Coalition, for
coming and visiting with us this evening about the need for
accountability and responsibility in Iraq.
Mr. Speaker, as you know, the Blue Dog Coalition is about fiscal
responsibility. It is about restoring common sense and fiscal
discipline to our Nation's government, not only here at home, but also
in Iraq. And that is why this week the Blue Dog Coalition will file a
resolution that its coalition, the Blue Dog members, have endorsed to
demand accountability in Iraq.
We read the resolution in its entirety at the beginning of this
Special Order. Basically, we want a detailed accounting of how military
and reconstruction funds in Iraq have been spent thus far, a detailed
accounting of the types and terms of contracts awarded on behalf of the
United States, including the methods by which such contracts were
awarded and contractors selected; a description of efforts to obtain
support and assistance from other countries toward the rehabilitation
of Iraq. The U.S. should not be going this alone; an assessment of what
additional funding is needed to complete military operations and
reconstruction efforts in Iraq, including a plan for security in Iraq;
a detailed plan for how any future funds will be spent; and a statement
of how those funds will advance the interests of the United States in
Iraq. Sanctions shall be imposed against contractors who have engaged
in fraud or abuse or, yes, war profiteering.
We are calling for the creation of a Truman-like committee
commissioned to conduct an ongoing study and investigation of the
awarding and carrying out of contracts by the United States to conduct
activities with regard to Operation Iraqi Freedom, and make such
recommendations to the House as the select committee deems appropriate.
Funding requests for Operation Iraqi Freedom in fiscal year 2008 and
beyond must come through the regular appropriation process, not through
the so-called emergency supplementals; no more of not being
accountable; no more hiding the true cost of the war.
And finally, the administration should firmly condition further
American financial, military and political resources upon steady
improvement in Iraqi assumption of principal responsibility for
internally policing Iraq.
Now, why are we filing this resolution? Because our Nation has now
spent over $400 billion, nearly a half a trillion, in Iraq. Total for
2006, $100.4 billion; for the month, $8.44 billion; the cost per day,
$275 million. And, Mr. Speaker, yes, each hour we are sending
$11,458,333 of your tax money to Iraq. And we believe it is time for
this Congress to fulfill its constitutional duty to provide oversight
on how this money is being spent.
I yield to my fellow Blue Dog member from California Mr. Costa.
Mr. COSTA. Thank you very much, the gentleman from Arkansas. I
appreciate having an opportunity to share with my fellow Blue Dog
colleagues this evening the challenges that our country is facing as we
wage this war on terrorism, and try to bring together some level of
stability in Iraq.
The War Funding Accountability Act that the Blue Dog Coalition is
sponsoring, that we present to you this evening, is an attempt to bring
accountability that has sorely been missing almost 4 years now after we
have been engaged in this effort. And we, as Americans, are all engaged
in this effort.
This War Accountability Act, if it successfully passes Congress,
would require the Department of Defense Inspector General, as well as
the Special Inspector General for Iraq on Reconstruction, to report to
the Congress every 30 days after any supplemental bill passes, and
quarterly thereafter. These reports, unfortunately, have been lacking
over the last 4 years.
Now, as we look back, there has been a lot of water that has passed
under this bridge, at tremendous costs, beginning first with over 3,000
American lives, men and women that have been lost, and over 20,000
Americans who have suffered injuries as a result of this engagement in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
We are talking about the fiscal costs here this evening. But there is
no way that we can put a cost or a value on the American lives that
have been lost in this effort to try to bring stability and continue to
protect Americans on this war on terrorism.
What has been lacking is accountability. The Blue Dogs feel strongly
that accountability not only in the fiscal sense, but accountability in
how we have engaged in this war effort needs to be seriously focused
on. And that is why I am supporting this resolution.
A couple of weeks ago I met with the President, as he solicited our
ideas about how we should go forth. I said, ``Mr. President, I was in
Iraq last year, among the first delegation to meet with Prime Minister
Maliki, and I asked Prime Minister Maliki what his goals were. He said
they were disband the militias, reduce violence, get reconstruction
going and move the economy.'' It all makes a lot of sense. Eight months
later, going on to 9 months, unfortunately, the Prime Minister's
actions have been far deficient of his words. And so today we are
focusing on this War Funding Accountability Act.
But I said, ``Mr. President, militarily we cannot be successful in
this effort alone. There needs to be a political agreement in which the
major sectarian factions in this sectarian civil war are willing to
agree upon on how to share the political power in Iraq and the oil
revenues.'' Let's make no mistake about it. That is what we are
fighting in today.
Unfortunately, that is the sectarian civil war that we have gotten
ourselves into, and without a political solution, we will not be
successful in Iraq.
I have been there. I looked into the eyes of the American men and
women in uniform who are fighting valiantly on our behalf, and we need
to put the same support for them as we try to put for you. So as we
demand accountability on single-source bidding, on sole-source
contracting for the efforts in Iraq, let's also hold the Iraqi
Government to the same time lines and the same sort of accountability
that we should be holding our own government for. And for these
reasons, I support the Blue Dog Coalition on the War Funding
Accountability Act.
And as I told the President, ``Put me in the doubtful column as it
relates to the surge unless we have a political agreement among the
Shiites, the Kurds and the Sunnis on how they are going to share power
forthwith and how they are going to share the oil revenues, because
otherwise, in my opinion, we are kidding ourselves, and, more
importantly, we are misleading the American public. And sadly, what is
at stake are the lives of American men and women in uniform who are in
harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr. ROSS. I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Costa). And in
the 8 minutes or so we have remaining, I have got three other members
of the Blue Dog Coalition that have joined us, and we are very pleased
that they have. At this time I yield to the gentleman from California
(Mr. Cardoza).
Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker and Mr. Ross, tomorrow night, when the
President of the United States delivers his State of the Union Address,
the Nation will listen carefully as he lays out his agenda for the
final 2 years of office. And there is no question our Nation faces many
great challenges. The one issue, however, that weighs most heavily on
the minds of the American people is, of course, the war in Iraq. The
[[Page H825]]
President is now moving forward with a plan to escalate the war,
despite bipartisan opposition. I have grave doubts about the wisdom of
this action, as do most of my colleagues.
Regardless of one's views on the right way to move forward in Iraq,
we should be able to agree on one thing: Fraud and abuse and flagrant
waste of taxpayer dollars that we have seen throughout this war have
got to stop. It is bleeding our Treasury dry, and it is further
undermining our security in Iraq.
Some estimates suggest the war in Iraq will cost the American people
$2 trillion when all is said and done, and that is truly a staggering
figure. That is why the Blue Dogs are putting forward this resolution
asking for accountability. We can't afford another $2 trillion in debt
piled on to what Mr. Ross has already said, $8.710 and change trillion.
So Mr. Speaker, I am not going to take up a lot of time. We have two
distinguished colleagues that have waited here to speak to you tonight.
But I will say that I applaud the Blue Dogs, and I am proud of being a
member of the Blue Dogs. I am proud to be here with you again, Mr.
Ross, and I just believe it is high time that the American people have
a full accounting of what this war is costing, and how the contractors
have misspent American Treasury in the process.
Mr. ROSS. I thank the gentleman from California for demanding
accountability of how your tax money, Mr. Speaker, is being spent, the
tax money of hardworking Americans is being spent, not only here at
home, but also abroad in places like Iraq.
I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee, my fellow Blue Dog member,
Mr. Lincoln Davis.
Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Congressman Ross, thanks very much. I
will be very brief.
During the campaign in November, October and September, obviously
leading up to the November 7 election, I heard a great deal from those
who would be talking about, do you favor cut and run or stay the
course?
I submit to you that neither of those are good alternatives. And the
sad thing is that the American public have been told that mission has
been accomplished after landing on the battleship. And then shortly
after that, the Iraqi insurgents were told, just bring it on. I think
it is time that we bring on a little bit of accountability. And this
accountability and the resolution that the Blue Dog Democrats have
introduced doesn't deal with whether or not we stay, how long we stay.
It just talks about the stay that we have already been there, account
for it. Account for the almost $400 billion that has been spent of
taxpayer dollars that could be used, quite frankly, maybe to have won
the war in a better way, to have brought about a safe Iraq that is not
there today.
And my real concern, as I go back and study the Tet Offensive, it is
my concern that, as we send these 20-some thousand extra troops into
Iraq, and as we start talking on the Shiia militias, that we may see
the results of another Tet Offensive that we saw in 1968 in Vietnam.
I just hope that our President, that the Defense Department and those
who are advocating additional troops not only will be accountable for
what we have already done there, but at least present to us a better
plan than what we have had presented to us in the past.
Stay the course, mission accomplished and bring it on just ain't got
it done, and it is time that we look at what is going on in this
country. When you look at Iraq and Iran, and you realize that when you
hear that there are a billion folks of the faith of Islam, most of
those are either in Asia, Central Asia and in Africa, not in the Middle
East. Virtually all in the Middle East perhaps are the Islam faith
except, obviously, for the nation of Israel. But when you look where
most of the Shiias are, only 10 percent of the faith of Islam are
Shiias. The other are Sunnis. And when you look at where the bulk of
the Shiia population is, it is in Iraq and in Iran.
It is my fear that stay the course, bring it on and mission
accomplished has only brought to us two nations in the Middle East,
Iraq and Iran, with probably close to 7 percent of the Shiias that will
be in control of two nations in the Middle East that will have under
their soils around 50 percent of the oil in the Middle East. It is
time, Mr. Speaker, that we take a serious look and do what the old
crossing at the railroad used to say: Stop, look and listen to what we
are doing.
Mr. ROSS. I thank the gentleman from Tennessee for his assessment in
support of this Blue Dog resolution to demand accountability in Iraq.
And with the remaining 3 or 4 minutes left in this Special Order, Mr.
Speaker, I yield as much time as the gentleman from Florida, a new
member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a new Member of this Congress, Mr.
Mahoney, may so desire.
{time} 2130
Mr. MAHONEY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend
from Arkansas for yielding to me tonight. I stand here today
representing the great State of Florida's 16th Congressional District,
a district that spans from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico and
represents the hopes and aspirations of all Floridians.
I stand here as a freshman member of the Blue Dog Coalition
supporting our resolution demanding that the administration account for
the Iraq war in a manner that lets this Nation see the true costs of
the undertaking, and ensuring that our brave men and women who are
fighting for our freedom are not being robbed by profiteers and
inefficient government bureaucracy.
What got me was that not only was the deficit a tax on my daughter,
Bailey's, future, but this administration was not leveling with the
American people. This administration was not telling the people the
true cost of their programs, telling us that these tax breaks for the
wealthiest were driving us to the poor house, cutting revenues when
increasing government by over 30 percent.
Now, do not get me wrong. I believe in smaller, more efficient
government. I do not believe we need to raise taxes. However, as a
businessman, I believe in living within one's means, having to make
tough choices so that we can determine what is important, determining
what our national priorities are and making those hard choices.
The fact that this administration has calculatingly funded this war
with emergency supplemental appropriations so that the American people
would not see the true cost is wrong. This Congress and the American
people have the right to determine for themselves if the results
justify the expenses. Looking at the budget cuts our children had to
endure when he cut Head Start, when he unfunded No Child Left Behind,
cutting the budget for health services for our veterans, cutting
funding for law enforcement programs while violent crime is on the
rise, making a decision to leave our ports unsecured by not inspecting
the hundreds of thousands of containers that enter this country every
year.
Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve to have all of the facts so
that they can make their own decision. This resolution calls on the
President to budget for the Iraq war like he budgets for everything
else. No longer can this country afford the President standing in front
of the American people and declaring fiscal victory when he loses less
of our money than he projected, declaring victory when we are running
record deficits and not adding the cost of the Iraq war.
These are real losses, these are real debts, debts to be repaid with
our tax dollars. Further, this resolution calls for the President to be
a good steward of our money by asking for accountability in how our
hard-earned money is spent. Our resolution specifically calls on
Congress to perform this congressional responsibility to provide
oversight and make sure that our brave men and women fighting for our
liberty get everything they need to come home and make those who would
steal from them pay the price.
This is not a new idea. President Truman, as a U.S. Senator, did
exactly that during World War II, a Democrat in Congress providing
oversight to a Democratic administration. Imagine that. What a novel
idea.
Tonight I call upon the American people to let the President know
that regardless of whether you support the war in Iraq or not, you
expect him to level with the American people.
Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, let me be clear the Blue Dog Coalition stands
for fiscal responsibility and accountability
[[Page H826]]
here at home and in Iraq, and we stand in support of our men and women
in uniform, and we demand accountability for them to ensure that these
resources are going to them to support them, to keep them safe, and to
return them home to their families. May God bless our troops and their
families.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________