[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 5, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   U.S. TROOP READINESS, VETERANS' CARE, KATRINA RECOVERY, AND IRAQ 
                ACCOUNTABILITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 24, 2007

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 
2206, the ``U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and 
Iraq Accountability Act of 2007.'' I concur in House Amendment No.1 to 
the Senate Amendment because I believe in doing all we can to support 
our troops. But I cannot concur in House Amendment No. 2 to the Senate 
Amendment because there is a limit to the patience of the American 
people. They have been waiting for more than four years for the Bush 
Administration to develop a successful policy in Iraq and for the Iraqi 
Government to take responsibility for the security of the Iraqi people.
  Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us makes emergency supplemental 
appropriations for the Iraq War and additional supplemental 
appropriations for agricultural and other emergency assistance for the 
fiscal year ending September 30, 2007.
  This emergency supplemental provides $120 billion primarily for the 
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and for improving the health care for 
returning soldiers and veterans. It also provides for the continued 
recovery of the Gulf Coast from the devastation wrought by Hurricane 
Katrina and fills major gaps in homeland security.
  Specifically, the agreement provides $99.5 billion for the Defense 
Department for continued military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. 
The legislation includes a $1 billion increase for the National Guard 
and Reserve equipment and $1.1 billion for military housing. The 
supplemental legislation provides $3 billion ($1.2 billion more than 
the President's request) for the purchase of Mine Resistant Ambush 
Protected Vehicles (MRAP)--vehicles designed to withstand roadside 
bombs.
  Mr. Speaker, included in the bill is $4.8 billion to ensure that 
troops and veterans receive the health care that they have earned with 
their service and another $6.4 billion to rebuild the Gulf Coast and 
help the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. There is also 
emergency funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program 
(SCHIP) totals more than $650 million. Finally, Homeland security 
investments total more than $1 billion, including funds for port 
security and mass transit security, for explosives detection equipment 
at airports, and for several initiatives in the 9/11 bill that recently 
passed the Senate.
  Most important, Mr. Speaker, this legislation includes the benchmarks 
and reporting requirements that were contained in the Warner Amendment 
in the Senate, which specifies 18 benchmarks for measuring progress by 
the Iraqi government, including the benchmarks that President Bush laid 
out on January 10. But they do not include the timelines included in 
prior versions of the supplemental that Americans approve, support, and 
demand.
  The Warner Amendment requires the President to submit two reports to 
Congress on the progress of the Iraqi government on meeting the 18 
benchmarks--one by July 15, 2005 and the second by September 15, 2007. 
If the President fails to certify progress on each of the 18 benchmarks 
in the September report, the Iraqi government would lose the economic 
aid being provided by the United States unless the President exercises 
his authority to waive the certification requirement in accordance with 
the procedures set forth in the bill. The amendment also requires an 
independent report from the General Accounting Office by September 1, 
2007 on the progress of the Iraqi government in meeting the 18 
benchmarks.
  Mr. Speaker, in vetoing the previous emergency supplemental, the 
President claimed it will ``undermine our troops and threaten the 
safety of the American people here at home.'' Coming from an 
Administration that has been wrong on every important question relating 
to the decision to launch the Iraq War as well the conduct of it, this 
claim is laughable. It is nearly as ridiculous as the President's often 
stated claim of ``progress'' in Iraq. The facts, of course, are 
otherwise.
  The U.S. death toll in Iraq reached 83 in just the first 7 days of 
May--making it the deadliest month of the year and one of the deadliest 
of the entire war. It is therefore little wonder that nearly 70% of 
Americans disapprove of the way the President is handling the war. But 
more important, the President's claim that the Iraq Accountability Act 
undermines our troops and threatens the safety of the American people 
here at home is simply not true.

  Mr. Speaker, to date, the war in Iraq has lasted longer than 
America's involvement in World War II, the greatest conflict in all of 
human history. But there is a difference. The Second World War ended in 
complete and total victory for the United States and its allies. But 
then again, in that conflict America was led by FDR, a great Commander-
in-Chief, who had a plan to win the war and secure the peace, listened 
to his generals, and sent troops in sufficient numbers and sufficiently 
trained and equipped to do the job.
  As a result of the colossal miscalculation in deciding to invade 
Iraq, the loss of public trust resulting from the misrepresentation of 
the reasons for launching that invasion, and the breath taking 
incompetence in mismanaging the occupation of Iraq, the Armed Forces 
and the people of the United States have suffered incalculable damage.
  The war in Iraq has claimed the lives of 3,431 brave servicemen and 
women. More than 25,378 Americans have been wounded, many suffering the 
most horrific injuries. American taxpayers have paid nearly $400 
billion to sustain this misadventure.
  By vetoing the bipartisan Iraq Accountability Act last week, the 
President vetoed the will of the American people. The President vetoed 
a responsible funding bill for the troops that would have provided more 
funding for our troops and military readiness than even the President 
requested.
  By vetoing the Iraq Accountability Act, the President rejected a bill 
that reflects the will of the American people to wind down this war. By 
vetoing the Iraq Accountability Act, the President turned a deaf ear to 
the loud message sent by the American people last November.
  That is why I will proudly vote for H.R. 2206. This legislation 
places the responsibility for bringing peace and security where it 
clearly belongs and that is squarely on the shoulders of the Iraqi 
government. The legislation crafted by the Chairman of the 
Appropriations Committee in consultation with the leadership and the 
members of the Democratic Caucus moves us closer to the day when we end 
the misguided invasion, war, and occupation of Iraq. It puts us on the 
glide path to the day when our troops come home in honor and triumph 
and where we can ``care for him who has borne the battle, and for his 
widow and orphan.''
  Mr. Speaker, in passing H.R. 2206, this House will be doing the 
business and expressing the will of the American people. In the latest 
CBS News/New York Times poll, 64 percent of Americans favor a timetable 
that provides for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq in 2008. In 
the same poll, 57 percent of Americans believe that Congress, not the 
President, should have the last say when it comes to setting troop 
levels in Iraq.
  Mr. Speaker, in passing H.R. 2206, Congress is fulfilling its 
constitutional responsibilities and exercising the first check on the 
President's power in six years. As Iraq Study Group Co-Chairman Lee 
Hamilton has pointed out, ``The founders of our nation never envisioned 
an unfettered president making unilateral decisions about American 
lives and military power. They did indeed make the president the 
commander in chief, but they gave to Congress the responsibility for 
declaring war, for making rules governing our land and naval forces, 
for overseeing policy, and of course the ability to fund war or to 
cease funding it.''
  Mr. Speaker, the President demands a blank check to escalate the war 
in Iraq against the will of the Congress and the American people. The 
Constitution does not require it, he certainly has not earned it, and I 
am not prepared to give it to him. That is why I cannot concur in House 
Amendment No. 2 to the Senate Amendment. I do concur in House Amendment 
No. 1 and I urge all members to join me.




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