[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 23714]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            R&R TROOP RELIEF

  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, I rise to talk about the men and women on 
the front line in Iraq defending America in the fight against 
terrorism. We cannot forget them. There are a lot of other things going 
on in Washington--including, by the way, the discussion of who said 
what to whom.
  I digress for a moment to comment on calls for a special prosecutor. 
I am a slight student of history. In 1999 there was an effort in this 
body, led by Senator Collins from Maine, a bipartisan effort, to put in 
place a provision to allow for a special prosecutor. It was blocked, it 
was stopped, by the very same folks today talking about the need for a 
special prosecutor. I will be very blunt: We are hearing rank political 
hypocrisy when it comes to claims about a special prosecutor.
  I also note the calls that: The administration did this, the 
administration did that. The President of the United States has been 
very clear. If someone in his administration leaked information or did 
something that is illegal, they will be held accountable. That is what 
the administration has said.
  We have to get away from the politics and simply do the right thing. 
The American public get it. They see through it. Unfortunately, it 
casts a negative light on everyone when every battle is a political 
battle other than simply doing the right thing.
  One of the right things, by the way, being done is, today the 
Pentagon has rolled out a program to bring troops home who have served 
in Iraq for over a year. These service men and women are going to get a 
well-deserved rest. Unfortunately, the program only provides for 
transportation to places such as Baltimore, Atlanta, Dallas, and Los 
Angeles. For folks who come from Minnesota, my State, that creates a 
burden and a hardship. Flights are very expensive if you have not 
planned 2 weeks in advance, costing literally thousands of dollars.
  This is a good start. It does not go far enough. Because I want to 
make sure that the service men and women who had to pay--some, again, 
$1,000 or more for same-day tickets to see their loved ones--I have 
submitted, along with Senator Stevens, Senator Dayton, and Senator 
Dorgan, an amendment to fix this unintended consequence of the R&R 
program.
  If we acknowledge that our troops who have been in Iraq deserve a 
rest, we ought to make sure they get their way home. I thank the 
chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Stevens, who has said 
they will take care of this. My heartfelt thanks to the distinguished 
chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

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