[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 18]
[House]
[Pages 24605-24609]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2004

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaTourette). Pursuant to the order of 
the House of today, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) is 
recognized for 30 minutes.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I have never been more proud to be a Member of the House 
of Representatives than during a recent trip, when I had the privilege 
of chairing a delegation of 17 Members who traveled to Iraq, the 
largest delegation to travel there to this point. And, indeed, it was a 
delegation made up of liberals, of conservatives, of Democrats, 
Republicans, of people who voted against the war in the first place, of 
individuals who supported, very strongly, the President's position in 
the region. The map is different than the territory, the saying goes.
  And one really has to visit this country and see firsthand what has 
taken place there to get an understanding as to why America has such a 
vital and important role in the region.
  Indeed, it is my view that Iraq can become a model of developing 
countries within the region, where there is new opportunity for 
freedom, for enterprise, for democracy, for, in this case, the first 
time in their history.
  Indeed, during our travels, we had a chance to see absolutely the 
worst of

[[Page 24606]]

the most significant totalitarian regime to operate in this shrinking 
world in modern times. Absolutely, this regime carried forward in a 
fashion that treated its people worse than or just at least as bad as 
the experience in Nazi Germany, as well as during the reign of Stalin.
  To visit the killing fields where you see mounds of dirt, clothing 
poking out, where relatives had come to try to dig out the bodies of 
their loved ones who had been murdered at such locations, several such 
locations, perhaps in the hundreds in Iraq where between half a million 
and 1.5 million Iraqis were murdered by Saddam Hussein and his 
henchmen, to have the experience to see firsthand what has happened 
over these past 35 years to their infrastructure, utility plants. We 
visited one location where there were four stacks, two of them 
operating, but inside you could see the deterioration. I mean, 
literally, grime everywhere, steam flowing that should not have been 
flowing, basic infrastructure that had been ignored.
  Iraq is fundamentally a very wealthy country, a country that has 
agricultural potential that would cause it to rival any country in 
their region. A fabulous people of great intellect and educational 
background, an oil reserve that has huge potential, that too, for one 
reason or another, to my astonishment, Saddam Hussein allowed to 
deteriorate. So at this point, this country with potential is burdened 
by a huge debt, made largely by our friends like Germany and France, 
who we hope, sometime in the near term, will consider forgiving much of 
that debt so that Iraq has a chance to get back on track.
  Indeed, it is critical for us to recognize that the supplemental that 
is before us later today involves some $65 billion to support our 
troops in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and elsewhere.
  The balance of the $87 billion package, some $18.5 billion, is to 
give direct assistance for the reconstruction of this Iraq. It is the 
chance to provide a democratic opportunity as well as economic 
opportunity for these people who have been under such burden for so 
long.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. 
Dicks).
  Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to commend the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Lewis) and the other Members who joined us on this 
trip, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla), the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Walsh), who are also the subcommittee chairs on the House 
Committee on Appropriations. We had an outstanding group.
  It was a tough trip. We flew into Amman, Jordan, and the next morning 
went in on a C-130, an old C-130, I think it was a 1962 vintage, and 
landed in a kind of military landing at Baghdad International Airport.
  We had a chance then to be briefed by Mr. Bremer's people. Mr. Bremer 
had actually briefed us here in the country. General Sanchez gave us a 
good rundown on what was going on. As the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Lewis) mentioned, we went south to look at an area where somewhere 
between 300,000 and 1 million Iraqis had been murdered. And it was a 
very sobering experience. And we actually talked to people who had 
witnessed with their own eyes the killing of these people.
  The next day we went north to Mosul, met with General Petraeus, had a 
chance to see his good work with the 101st Airborne. And we also 
visited a hospital that day and a power plant, which the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lewis) had just mentioned. And in all these instances, 
we were stunned to see how run down the facilities were in the country. 
Saddam Hussein had spent his money on palaces and on the military and 
had let his country deteriorate.
  We had a chance to talk to a number of Iraqis, and, also, we had to 
recognize that there was a major security problem and one that we have 
to continue to deal with. There has been a lot of debate here in the 
Congress in both bodies about loans versus grants, but the consensus of 
our group, the 17 Members that made this trip, was that we came away 
feeling that if we were going to set an example for the rest of the 
world, we have to step up here because the security of our troops are 
directly related to the ability to get this moving, to get the electric 
energy producing at a higher rate, to restore the oil producing 
facilities. All of this depends on an investment by the United States.
  And Iraq already has $100 billion of debt to other countries. And it 
was run up by Saddam Hussein. And reparations are being demanded by 
other countries including Bahrain and Kuwait.
  In the Committee on Appropriations, we had an overwhelming majority 
in favor of not only funding the military operations both in Iraq and 
Afghanistan, but also to do the economic work that is so essential to 
build the trust with the Iraqi people. And it is interesting when you 
talk to and read some of the articles, the reason that these people are 
cooperating with the United States is they see the fact that we are 
there trying to help their country.
  Up in the north, for example, Saddam Hussein's two sons were captured 
by a tip from a person who had been working and cooperating with the 
101st Airborne with General Petraeus' people.

                              {time}  1330

  And I believe that if we can continue to build this relationship and 
work with these people, we can get this security situation under 
control. Clearly, that is not the case as we speak here today. The 
security situation is still very dangerous inside the country.
  We had a chance to be briefed on the improvised explosive devices, 
the other tactics being used by the people who are part of the former 
Baath Party, former members of Saddam's regime. There may be, who 
knows, 5,000, 10,000 of these people still opposed to the United States 
and to our coalition; and we need to have a good effort there with our 
intelligence community and with our Special Forces to go after those 
people inside the country.
  Again, it is the cooperation of the Iraqi people in giving us tips, 
letting us know who the bad guys are, letting us know where the safe 
houses are where these people are being protected by others. And I 
believe if we are going to be successful and we get our children home, 
if we are going to get them home in the near future, we have to build 
this relationship, and we have to help them develop their country, 
develop their democracy. And then they in turn can help us resolve the 
security issues.
  We are training police as we speak. We are training people to be able 
to go back into their own militia so they can defend and protect their 
own country. So I think that we are making a significant amount of 
progress.
  Ambassador Bremer is doing a good job, but he needs the resources. 
And also if we are going to ask the rest of the world to make grants, 
the Japanese, the Germans, the Brits, how can we do that if we are 
going to say we are going to loan them the money? Frankly, there is no 
one to loan the money to at this point. And I would doubt that they 
could repay the money under any circumstance. So it would be a grant, 
but we would be making a very nondirect and dishonest statement to the 
American people.
  Again, I said I wanted to commend the chairman and all the Members 
who went. We had a chance to see what is happening there. I recommend 
to the Members of the House to go and see for themselves. We are making 
progress. Security is still an issue; but things are getting better, 
and they are certainly moving in the right direction. And we need the 
support of the funding for the troops and to reconstruct Iraq.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla).
  Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to empathize that this trip by the congressional 
delegation was historic. It was a bipartisan trip; and I congratulate 
my colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis), for putting 
this incredible group together. It was a large group and it reached 
across the political spectrum.
  All of these Members were taking this situation in Iraq very 
seriously

[[Page 24607]]

and they were seeking the truth about Iraq. We were all choosing not to 
just get our information from news media reports that appear each night 
on the networks or from some of the major newspapers that only take 
snippets of what is actually happening in Iraq.
  The truth we discovered was that the 31-member coalition has a solid 
grip, a real plan on improving and stabilizing a free Iraq by helping 
rebuild the infrastructure, establishing border security, and also 
trying to help build a new military for Iraq that would be on our side 
and would fight side by side with us, Iraqis working with us to create 
a country that is no longer an outlaw nation and no longer led by a 
rogue dictator in Iraq.
  This is important to the safety of our people. And I think the 
strongest message we have for anyone out there who is mulling this 
issue over in their mind is this is about creating a safer world, about 
a safer country, about fighting the war on terrorism in Iraq and 
winning, because ultimately it will eliminate this haven and this 
opportunity for terrorists to thrive in that part of the world.
  I was so impressed that the delegation came back, again, in a 
bipartisan way and reached the same conclusion. The conclusion says we 
must win this war on terrorism in Iraq and we must stand with our State 
Department, with our military, with Mr. Bremer, the administrator who 
is doing an incredible job in Iraq. We must win this effort. And, 
again, this is a bipartisan effort that we feel very strongly about, 
and we will be debating this in the next day as we approve the funds 
that are necessary to complete this mission.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from San Diego, California (Mrs. Davis of California).
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to thank the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis), and I wanted to thank him 
particularly for his leadership on this trip.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in reluctant support of the supplemental 
appropriations. Had I not been to Iraq and seen for myself the extent 
of their needs, I may not have supported it. But I cannot begin to 
describe the images there of Third World conditions in hospitals, the 
decay of infrastructure, the lack of drinkable water, the pervasive 
sense of insecurity and more.
  Mr. Speaker, I opposed our unilateral invasion, but now I see that as 
liberators and occupiers we face an overwhelming challenge to craft the 
environment that will allow the Iraqis to create a viable future by 
drawing both on their innate and natural resources.
  As I spoke to several of our commanders in the field, it became clear 
that the needs of the military for better force protection and the need 
to fund major infrastructure projects are linked. And, in fact, 
security and reconstruction are inseparable. To be sure, as conditions 
for Iraqis improve, it will impede the efforts by militant forces to 
recruit young men and destabilize the country. And also better living 
conditions will increase trust and motivate more Iraqis to provide 
friendship to security forces. However, we cannot continue to go it 
alone.
  A recent RAND report states what we all know: Building a democracy, a 
strong economy and long-term legitimacy depends on striking the balance 
between international burden-sharing and unity of command. The U.S. 
cannot generate the required resources and endurance relying 
principally on the limited coalition that fought the war.
  The U.S. portion of the cost should be a sacrifice shared equally 
among all Americans, including the wealthiest. Now it is our military 
and their families who bear the burden and face the ultimate sacrifice. 
That is why I will support an amendment to help fund this effort by 
freezing the tax brackets for upper incomes.
  Further, had the Committee on Appropriations not adopted the 
accountability measures offered by the minority whip, I might have 
opposed the legislation. The President would do well to allay the 
concerns of a skeptical public and Congress by endorsing and accepting 
these accountability standards.
  In a town hall meeting I sponsored in San Diego this past weekend, I 
heard voices, voices of outrage that echo those of many of my 
constituents who have contacted me. And what I learned mirrors my own 
reaction setting foot in Iraq: we have not well prepared our 
constituents and all Americans for the aftermath. That is why this 
legislation is difficult to swallow. But to be sure, we should have 
better applied the lessons of our most recent history. Having opposed 
the invasion, I question where we are today and the final cost in 
dollars and lives, but walking away now is simply not an option.
  With the approval of the $87 billion, we may or may not succeed in 
our efforts. But without it, Mr. Speaker, we are guaranteed failure.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh).
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lewis), and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks) 
for organizing and leading this delegation to Iraq. It was a remarkable 
journey and lots of observations, I think, are important that the 
American public hear from us.
  First of all, I am here to support the emergency supplemental, $66 
billion for our troops. They need this money for equipment and to 
continue to do their jobs, which they have done courageously and 
brilliantly in war and in peace. I do not think the American public has 
any idea of how bright and effective and resourceful our soldiers are 
in war and in peace. I have never seen so many masters of public 
administration degrees in one place as I have in our United States Army 
and in our Marines. They are doing a remarkable job in very difficult 
conditions.
  The $20 billion for the rebuilding of Iraq and some for Afghanistan 
is essential. This will not only help to restore the strength and the 
vibrancy of that country but it will also help our troops to do their 
job. A New York Times reporter stated recently, ``We broke it. We need 
to fix it.''
  Well, we did not break it. The United States did not break Iraq; 
Saddam Hussein broke Iraq. Our soldiers in their execution of this war 
were extremely careful. They went after Saddam's palaces, military 
installations, Baathist Party headquarters, the political and military 
infrastructure. The roads and bridges and canals of this country were 
relatively untouched, which is remarkable. When I tell people that back 
home, they say, well, why do we not hear that more often? I do not know 
why, but that is one of the reasons I wanted to speak today.
  This should not be alone. Iraq is heavily burdened by reparations to 
Kuwait, which I do not believe they should pay. Kuwait is a wealthy 
country. The loans that were made to Iraq were made to Saddam Hussein 
by Western powers. I think we should work with them to forgive those. I 
do not think we should be a party to putting more burden on the Iraqi 
people.
  They will have the resources within a year or two to run their own 
country, to manage their own affairs. But this infusion of funds will 
help them get their power grid up, which was destroyed by looters after 
the war, not during the war. Their water grid, Saddam did not build 
water systems in the north or the south because they were not his 
supporters. We need to make sure the Kurds and the Turkmen and the Shea 
peoples have the same quality of life that they have in central Iraq.
  This country has tremendous potential. We all saw it from 150 feet 
off the ground in Black Hawk helicopters. We saw the potential. This is 
an agricultural mecca. They have the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; the 
Fertile Crest that we all studied about in school is still there. They 
have top soil 4, 5, 6, 7 feet deep, 1,000 miles long, 100 miles across. 
They can feed most of the central part of Asia. But most importantly, 
if this country becomes democratic, and I think it can if we stay with 
the task and get the job done, it will be a beacon, as our leader said, 
to the rest of the Middle East which is sorely lacking in democracy.
  It will put pressure on the Saudis, the Syrians, and the Iranis to 
follow

[[Page 24608]]

suit and give their people a stake in their government.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk), another member of our delegation.
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, history has an uncanny way of reminding us of 
our own motivation. When General Marshall outlined his program to help 
Europe, he did not know 30 years later the United States would stand at 
a similar crossroads. The 400,000 Americans killed in World War II paid 
the ultimate price for the mistakes made after World War I. And 
following the second European war, the continent ran out of food and 
suffered from runaway inflation and turned to communism.
  Learning the lessons of World War I, we came forward with the 
Marshall Plan, and it went beyond feeding the hungry and laid the 
foundation for the post-war recovery. Unlocking the potential of 
Europe, revitalizing the economies of 17 countries, expanding foreign 
trade, striking a blow against communism, these were all worthy goals 
but they cost an expensive $105 billion.
  We are at a similar crossroad now. We know that President Truman's 
decision to back the Marshall Plan helped prevent World War III. A 
third generation of Americans did not return to Europe, and today we 
face similar questions. In the House of Representatives as we debate 
$19 billion for Iraq, we consider Truman's question: How much would you 
pay to avoid World War III? And the answer from the American people was 
$105 billion.
  So looking at the unfinished work of Desert Storm, how much would we 
pay to stop a third war in Iraq?
  Well, cost is relative to income. Today's U.S. economy is larger than 
it was in 1947; the Marshall Plan imposed a heavy burden on our 
economy, 5 percent of the economy. This plan costs .02 percent of our 
economy. In this way, it is 200 times less expensive than the Marshall 
Plan.
  Now, as part of this delegation, I was in Baghdad. I saw the main 
power plant returning to prewar capacity. I saw firsthand a budding 
democracy taking root on the front pages of no less than 120 
newspapers. Under Saddam, half of all children did not go to school.

                              {time}  1345

  Last week, 90 percent of kids returned to class, many with the 1.5 
million book bags provided with the U.S. flag embossed on the front. 
They returned to class also with five million textbooks, but these 
textbooks were absent the pictures of Saddam and the rhetoric of hate 
that undermined the future of this region.
  Like their predecessors in Europe, our troops should finish this 
mission, earning a ticket home with no future Middle Eastern war 
forcing a return to the killing fields of Iraq. As the elected 
Representatives of the American people, we need to decide how much it 
costs to prevent a third war in Iraq. The stakes are very high. Leaving 
Iraq before our work is done guarantees that another generation of 
Americans will have to return to fight there. I think that is a risk 
that I am not willing to take.
  I really applaud the bipartisan leadership that we had, especially 
the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks) standing with us, and I thank 
my colleague for the opportunity to talk today.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  I very much appreciate my colleague's expression of concern.
  Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. LEWIS of California. I yield to the gentleman from Washington.
  Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, I think one thing that since we have gotten 
back on this trip and having a chance to reflect on it, and I 
appreciate the gentleman's very kind remarks, and I think the analogy 
of the Marshall Plan is a good one to think about in the context, but 
it is becoming clearer, the administration, I think, is working hard at 
the U.N. to bring other countries in. We need some partners in this 
operation to pay part of the cost, to share part of the burden, because 
it is, in fact, a U.N. resolution that we were enforcing when the 
United States went into Iraq, and I believe it is now time for the 
United States to reach out to the rest of the world and to bring the 
rest of the world into this operation. We may still have to lead it 
militarily, but on economic development, on moving the country forward, 
providing assistance, I think this is the time when that needs to 
happen.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Reclaiming my time, I am struck as the 
gentleman is making remarks, he talked a lot with us about the fact 
that the funding flow that may come from this supplemental, including 
the reconstruction, are as much designed to help secure our troops as 
anything. Would my colleague react to that?
  Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield, I am having a 
hard time hearing over here.
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. LEWIS of California. I yield to the gentleman from Illinois.
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, for example, this money is going to help 
support 240 health clinics around Iraq. Those health clinics will be 
close to where our troops are stationed. So the people of Iraq will see 
that we are adding to the health infrastructure of this country and 
know that it is because of the presence of Americans. It helps protect 
our troops.
  Mr. DICKS. If the gentleman will further yield, General Petraeus was 
up there explaining, opening these schools, getting people back to 
work, helping to train the police, selecting the local mayor, selecting 
the governor of the province. All these things are being done, and what 
they need in order to continue to do this is resources for 
reconstruction, and I think one of the things that I fought hard for in 
the bill was to make sure that the commanders are given some 
flexibility to be able to do some of these things because they are like 
the local mayors. They are out there in those provinces working on 
these issues, and his point over and over again, it is directly related 
to the security of our troops and the coalition troops.
  If we do these things and build a relationship with the Iraqis, it is 
going to make it easier to protect our kids. That is why I think it is 
so crucial that we keep this package together, and that is why I think 
the money for reconstruction is just as crucial for security purposes 
as the other funding.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, we learned 
many a thing during our trip to Iraq, but most impressive to me is that 
the media has talked much about the fact that there were not people 
cheering in the streets when we arrived in Iraq. I can tell my 
colleagues that was largely true because of the fear that remained on 
the part of the people in Baghdad, but as we flew over hundreds of 
miles of Iraq, very low altitudes in helicopters, one of the great 
impressions was endless farmhouses, kids running out of the houses, 
families running out of the fields, waving at the helicopters.
  I can tell my colleagues they were not waving at Congressmen. They 
did not know we were there. They were waving at American troops who 
were there providing them with an opportunity for peace and, indeed, 
for freedom in the years ahead.
  Above and beyond that, among the horrendous actions of this 
terrorist, indeed Saddam Hussein, directly impacted the mortality of 
the children of Iraq from a time when the children of Iraq lived as 
long as children in the whole region. It now has one of the worst child 
mortality rates in the entire world.
  Beyond that, one of our colleagues, one of the Democrats with us, a 
fellow who voted against the war in the first place, kind of 
crystallized it for me, he said, After all we have seen, this is going 
to be a very tough vote for me, and he went on to say, After seeing 
what we have seen, it occurs to me that sometimes we have to be just a 
bit ahead of where our constituents may be. It is time for us to lead, 
and so I am going to vote for this package that is coming to the House.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

[[Page 24609]]


  Mr. LEWIS of California. I yield to the gentleman from New York.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to make one point, and it was 
specifically asked that I do so.
  When we split, half our group went to Mosul, half went to Kirkuk. We 
met with the city council and the mayor of Kirkuk. The mayor spoke 
first, and the first thing he said in a very emotional way, he was a 
Kurd, he said, I want you to go back to the United States and tell the 
mothers and fathers of these soldiers that we are deeply grateful to 
them for the sacrifices their sons and daughters made to liberate us.
  I wanted to make sure that I delivered that message. It was repeated 
by Shiias, Turkimen and other Kurds who served on the city council. So 
I just wanted to make sure I made that point.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Dicks).
  Mr. DICKS. Again, we heard the same thing, and again I want to say my 
own personal thanks to all those who have served in the military 
operation.
  I had a chance to go over right before the war with the chairman and 
then with the gentleman from Illinois (Speaker Hastert) and to go again 
to see the success of the military operation, but again, I want to 
emphasize, we have got to continue to work on this security issue, to 
help protect the young men and women.
  Many of us have been to the various hospitals to see the wounded. It 
makes one's heart break that we did not have some of the equipment 
necessary at the right time to protect them. Now, we have put the money 
in the budget. We have beaten on the Defense Department to get it out 
there, and I think they are doing a much better job, but this was a 
very revealing trip, and I think we are doing the right thing, but we 
have got to continue to stay with it, bring in our international allies 
and get this job done, and if we do it right, it could be a great 
success.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming the balance of my 
time, let me say there will be much discussion today about whether we 
should make a loan or whether this should be a grant, that is, the 
$18.5 billion piece of this.
  Normally, I would have leaned in the direction of perhaps making a 
loan, but the difficulty with that is that there is a huge burden of 
almost $200 billion on the backs of the people of Iraq, largely due to 
Saddam Hussein, and in the latter part of this month, there is a 
meeting in Spain with the donor countries, and we hope to get the likes 
of France and Germany and others to forgive much of that obligation so 
we can get this country back on track. If we are in the lending 
business at this moment, that donor's conference will become a lender's 
conference and undermine that capability.
  Further, it is very important for us to know that if we are 
successful in Iraq, it will set a tone for the entire Middle East, 
expanding the opportunity for freedom and for democratic growth within 
the region.
  This has been a very, very important trip for the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Dicks) and myself and all of those colleagues who 
joined us. As I said in the beginning, I have never been more proud 
than I was on this trip than to watch Democrats and Republicans, 
American Congressmen, working together on behalf of freedom.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________