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




       MAKING $18.6 BILLION OF SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS A LOAN

  (Mr. ROHRABACHER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, today we will be considering the $87 
billion supplemental that was just referred to. Sixty-six billion 
dollars of that will go for military aid, and I have no opposition to 
that at all. I am very supportive of making sure our troops have what 
they need to come home safely and get their job done. But $18.6 billion 
of this supplemental is going for a reconstruction plan that will be in 
the form of grants, of gifts that will never be repaid to the people of 
the United States.
  I will be offering an amendment that will make this $18.6 billion in 
reconstruction come in the form of loans that will be repaid. That will 
be ruled out of order. And when it is, I will offer a second amendment, 
immediately, which will cut $18.6 billion from the supplemental 
package. This $18.6 billion will be cut specifically from 
reconstruction.
  If my second amendment passes, the administration will quickly return 
to us with a proposal for $18.6 billion to be in the form of a loan. I 
would ask my colleagues to join me in saying if we are going to give 
$18.6 billion to oil rich Iraq, let us get a repayment. Let us make 
sure our people do not have to bear this burden and our children repay 
that debt.

                          ____________________