[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 63 (Thursday, April 19, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4728-S4729]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to be able to come to the 
floor and urge the Senate to expedite the consideration of the 
supplemental appropriations bill that is now in conference between 
House and Senate members on the Appropriations Committee. This 
supplemental request for funding for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan 
has been pending now for way too long, without action to send this bill 
to the President for his signature.
  Over 2 weeks ago, I received a letter from the Joint Chiefs of Staff 
outlining the urgency of this appropriations bill. I am going to read a 
couple of excerpts from that letter now:

       With the increasing pace of operations and material needs 
     in Iraq and Afghanistan, we ask that the Congress 
     expeditiously complete its work on the Fiscal Year 2007 
     Emergency Supplemental. Timely receipt of this funding is 
     critical to military readiness and force generation as we 
     prosecute the war on terror. Given the current status of this 
     legislation, we are particularly concerned that funding could 
     be significantly delayed.

  It is very clear that delay is occurring, and it is a serious matter. 
We are talking about life-and-death situations, the ability to furnish 
the equipment, the weaponry, the training that is necessary for our 
Armed Forces to carry out their mission.
  This is not a time to play politics with the well-being of troops in 
the field. I am afraid that is what we are witnessing. I do not have 
any particular problem with the Senate and House members of our 
conference committee seriously engaging in a discussion of our 
differences and resolving those and submitting a final conference 
report as soon as possible. I urge that is what we do. But we are 
seeing more and more delay. That is just not justified under the 
circumstances in which we find ourselves.
  In this letter I received the other day, here is another thing that 
is pointed out by the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

       Without approval of the supplemental funds in April, the 
     Armed Services will be forced to take increasingly disruptive 
     measures in order to sustain combat operations. The impacts 
     on readiness and quality of life could be profound. We will 
     have to implement spending restrictions and reprogram 
     billions of dollars. Reprogramming is a short-term, cost-
     inefficient solution that wastes our limited resources. 
     Spending restrictions will delay and disrupt our follow-on 
     forces as they prepare for war, possibly compromising future 
     readiness and strategic agility. Furthermore, these 
     restrictions increase the burden on servicemembers and their 
     families during this time of war.

  I do not know how the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and those 
who are working closely with him in this very difficult period could be 
more clear about the importance of action now on this supplemental 
appropriations bill.
  I am not going to belabor the point, but I think for us to continue 
to engage in who is going to win this political struggle about 
deadlines, forced redeployments from Iraq and Afghanistan, suspension 
of activities of this kind or the other, and who is in charge, it makes 
the world wonder whether our Nation is competent to deal with an 
emergency that threatens the very security of our country.
  I know when I came to Congress, you would hear it said that partisan 
politics should stop at the water's edge, that whatever is going on in 
other parts of the world that affects our security, our economic well-
being, threatens us all as a nation, Democrats, Republicans, young and 
old, the military, and the civilian leaders of our country--we are all 
in this together.
  We need to work out our differences and resolve them somehow. Let's 
look to compromise that is fair, that carries out the intent as 
expressed in these bills by those who have supported and passed an 
appropriations bill in the Senate and one in the House. Let's resolve 
the differences. That is what we are waiting on. And do you know what. 
The conference committee has not even met. There has been no meeting of 
the conferees on the part of the House or the Senate to discuss the 
differences. Now, that is inexcusable, and I lay that at the feet of 
the leadership of the Senate and the House. We are all in this 
together. I am not saying just the Democratic leadership or the 
Republican leadership, but we as Members ought to call on our leaders 
now.
  Let's end this logjam. Let's end this confrontation and the political 
grandstanding that is going on on the part of some. I think we need to 
immediately move to conference. Let's work on these bills. Let's get 
them resolved in a conference report that the President can sign.
  We are talking about a supplemental appropriations bill for our 
military forces. There have been other things added in both the Senate 
and the House. Well, that is not unusual. That happens. What we can 
agree on, let's agree on and send it to the President. But let's stop 
the delay, the procrastination, the finger-pointing, the political 
accusations that the President does not have the interests of the 
country at heart--whatever is being said in so many words. It is a 
political attack against the President. This is not the time for 
partisan politics. This is the time for the Senate and the House to get 
together, resolve our differences, and move on, support our troops, and 
protect our national security interests. That is what this bill does.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the letter 
signed by Peter J. Schoomaker, General, U.S. Army, Chief of Staff; 
Michael G.

[[Page S4729]]

Mullen, Admiral, U.S. Navy, Chief of Naval Operations; T. Michael 
Moseley, General, U.S. Air Force, Chief of Staff; James T. Conway, 
General, U.S. Marine Corps, Commandant of the Marine Corps, be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                    The Joint Chiefs of Staff,

                                    Washington, DC, April 2, 2007.
     Hon. Thad Cochran,
     Ranking Member, Committee on Appropriations,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Cochran: On behalf of the Soldiers, Marines, 
     Sailors and Airmen of our Armed Forces and their families, 
     please accept our thanks and appreciation for continuing to 
     provide the necessary resources and legislation to fight the 
     Long War.
       With the increasing pace of operations and materiel needs 
     in Iraq and Afghanistan, we ask that the Congress 
     expeditiously complete its work on the Fiscal Year 2007 
     Emergency Supplemental. Timely receipt of this funding is 
     critical to military readiness and force generation as we 
     prosecute the war on terror. Given the current status of this 
     legislation, we are particularly concerned that funding could 
     be significantly delayed.
       Without approval of the supplemental funds in April, the 
     Armed Services will be forced to take increasingly disruptive 
     measures in order to sustain combat operations. The impacts 
     on readiness and quality of life could be profound. We will 
     have to implement spending restrictions and reprogram 
     billions of dollars. Reprogramming is a short-term, cost-
     inefficient solution that wastes our limited resources. 
     Spending restrictions will delay and disrupt our follow-on 
     forces as they prepare for war, possibly compromising future 
     readiness and strategic agility. Furthermore, these 
     restrictions increase the burden on service members and their 
     families during this time of war.
       Thank you again for your unwavering support of our service 
     members and their families. We are grateful for your 
     steadfast interest in providing them the best equipment, the 
     best training and a quality of life equal to the quality of 
     their service. We look forward to working with you on 
     measures to enhance our Nation's security.
           Sincerely,
     Peter J. Schoomaker,
       General, U.S. Army, Chief of Staff.
     Michael G. Mullen,
       Admiral, U.S. Navy, Chief of Naval Operations.
     T. Michael Moseley,
       General, U.S. Air Force, Chief of Staff.
     James T. Conway,
       General, U.S. Marine Corps, Commandant of the Marine Corps.

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I yield back the remainder of the time 
available on this side.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________