[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 51 (Wednesday, April 2, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H1894]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            THE IRAQ WAR AND THE IMPACT ON AMERICA'S ECONOMY

  (Mr. YARMUTH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, how much longer do the American people have 
to bear the financial burden of the war in Iraq? Between 2001 and 2008, 
Congress has appropriated nearly $700 billion for the Global War on 
Terrorism, most of that money going to fight the war in Iraq.
  Investing in Iraq rather than our own country has contributed to our 
Nation's economic downturn. According to Columbia University Professor 
Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard University Professor Linda Blimes, ``The 
Iraq adventure has seriously weakened the U.S. economy, whose woes go 
far beyond loose mortgage lending. You can't spend $3 trillion, yes, $3 
trillion, on a failed war abroad, and not feel the pain at home.'' And 
Americans are definitely feeling the pain.
  Mr. Speaker, during the minute that I have been speaking, the Bush 
administration has spent $235,168 on the war in Iraq. It is time that 
we once again invest in America. Our focus now should be on helping 
those Americans who face foreclosure, who can't pay their gas and 
heating bills, and who continue to watch their finances erode, while 
funding for the war grows every minute.

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