[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 19]
[House]
[Pages 26492-26509]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 3289, EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS 
  ACT FOR DEFENSE AND FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN, 
                                  2004

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 424, 
I call up the conference report on the bill (H.R. 3289) making 
emergency supplemental appropriations for defense and for the 
reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan for the fiscal year ending 
September 30, 2004, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 424, the 
conference report is considered as having been read.
  (For conference report and statement, see prior proceedings of the 
House of today.)
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) and 
the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young).
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this is the conference report on the supplemental to pay 
for our military forces, equipment, their salaries, and their medical 
care. A speaker who just left the well a few minutes ago said that 
nobody knows where the money is going, and I want to tell my colleagues 
that we do know where it is going. It is going to take me a little bit 
more time than I had anticipated using, but let me tell my colleagues 
this: $65 billion of this money goes to the American troops, the 
American forces in Afghanistan and in Iraq. I will take the time to 
provide details of that funding:
  Military personnel expenses: $17,800,000; The operation and 
maintenance for our services involved in Iraq and Afghanistan, 
$39,231,000; for procurement for the Army, for missiles, and WTCV for 
the Army, other procurement Army, aircraft procurement Army and Navy, 
other procurement Navy, procurement for the Marine Corps, Air Force 
procurement defense-wide $5,534,000. These pages that I will provide 
for the record are full of details on spending in this bill. And for 
someone to stand here and say no one knows where the money is going, is 
just not accurate. I really do not mind the political comments that are 
made here, but do not distort the facts.
  We know where this money is going. Do we know where every penny is 
going? No. And for some of the programs that my colleagues support, we 
do not know where all that money is going, either. But we do the best 
we can. We know this money is going for our troops. In fact, all of 
this money is going for our troops.
  Why did I say that? Because clearly $20 billion is for construction 
and recovery in Afghanistan and Iraq. But our troops are there. And 
this House overwhelmingly voted to send them there, and so did the 
other body. And so they are there. And they are not coming home until 
they have created a secure Afghanistan and a secure Iraq.
  Now, another speaker said, it is not working. The heck it is not. You 
talk to anybody who has gone from this Congress to Iraq and they will 
tell you that it is working. Is it working overnight? No. Of course 
not. It took 30 years for Saddam Hussein to destroy the lifestyle of 
people in Iraq. And our President decided to fix that. He was tired of 
Iraq threatening his neighbors. He was tired of Iraq supporting 
terrorists. And we voted to support him. Our troops are going to come 
home after we have been able to help the Iraqis create their own 
government and create their own security forces, so that they can have 
some quality of life in Iraq.
  So this money is going for our troops, and $65 billion of it is going 
directly to our troops.

[[Page 26493]]

  There are other things in this bill. We had a good conference with 
the Senate. It took us a couple of days after pre-working this 
conference for a couple of weeks, and we have done some good things in 
this bill.
  Remember the outrage that we all expressed when we found out that 
soldiers, wounded in battle, in a military hospital, were charged $8.10 
a day for the food that they consumed while in the hospital? This bill 
fixed that. We had fixed it temporarily in an appropriations bill. This 
bill fixes it permanently. And it not only fixes it permanently, but it 
makes it retroactive, so anybody who was billed for their food while 
recovering from battle wounds will get their money back if they paid 
those charges. This bill does that.
  We provide additional benefits for our National Guardsmen and our 
Reservists who are serving in our Nation's military in Iraq and 
Afghanistan.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been said that there is no exit strategy, and 
that there is no plan. The fact is, there is an exit strategy, and that 
is to stabilize Iraq and Afghanistan so that our troops can exit and 
exit safely, and so that the people of Iraq can have a quality of life. 
They did not have a quality of life prior to the United States 
liberating that nation from the tentacles of Saddam Hussein, who had 
destroyed millions of his own people in one way or another, who had 
gone to war with his neighbor in Iran, who has invaded Kuwait, and who 
threatened Saudi Arabia. This was a bad guy.
  I had the opportunity at the request of the Administration to attend 
the donors conference in Madrid last week, and I listened to speakers 
from many countries saying how bad Saddam Hussein was and how important 
it was to liberate the people of Iraq. They did not give the United 
States any credit for having made this happen, but at least they 
acknowledged that it had to happen, and that the United States, led by 
the President of the United States, George Bush, had the courage and 
the gumption to do something about it. I think we will find in the long 
range that this is going to be beneficial to the world. And this House 
obviously believed that, because we voted overwhelmingly to send those 
forces to Afghanistan and to Iraq.
  Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of other things that I want to bring to 
the discussion this evening; but at this point I am going to reserve 
the balance of my time, and then we will have our exchanges and then 
have a final vote here very shortly.

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[[Page 26495]]



[[Page 26496]]



[[Page 26497]]


  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), the ranking Democrat on the 
Subcommittee on Defense.
  Mr. MURTHA. Mr. Speaker, the first trip I took to Kuwait, it was 
right before the war started and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Pelosi) had asked me to accompany her, because for her first foreign 
trip she wanted to go, even though she was not for the war resolution, 
she wanted to make sure that the troops understood she supported them 
wholeheartedly.

[[Page 26498]]

The next trip I went on was to Iraq, and I found a number of shortages 
which a lot of people have talked about. But the shortages were not 
because the Committee on Appropriations did not put the money in; the 
shortages were because the bureaucrats back here saved the money for 
some other purpose. They did not want to spend this money. In the 
meantime, we had troops without inserts for their battle gear, we had 
troops without jammers, we had Bradleys without tracks, a lot of 
different problems. We called back from there, and we got the Defense 
Department moving. And this supplemental has every one of the 
shortages, the money for every one of the shortages in this bill.
  I am pleased to say that we have the companies working 24 hours a day 
to make sure that the troops have the type of equipment they need to 
protect their lives. I am hopeful that the President shifts some of 
these intelligence people, because what I have always learned is 
intelligence is probably the most important element in fighting a war; 
shifts the intelligence people from trying to find these weapons of 
mass destruction to trying to protect our troops.
  I get a lot of complaints from the Reserves. I hear all kinds of 
optimistic talk about this war. But let me say this. The Iraqis 
supposedly were for us when we went in. I see polls that say 60 percent 
of the people are for what we are doing.
  Well, when they fire our PGs into our troops and they take their legs 
off; we went out to the hospital, a number of us have been out there, 
the chairman has been out there, his wife has been out there over and 
over again, and we see them with their legs blown off and their arms 
blown off, and then they disappear after they have been firing these 
weapons into the crowd, that means the Iraqis are not with us. I do not 
care what the polls show; they are not with us. Now, they may be with 
us in heart, but they are afraid to talk about it and when they are 
afraid to talk about it, we have to win the hearts and minds of the 
people. That is what this reconstruction money is all about.
  We took care of the money for the troops, but if you do not get the 
electricity back, if you do not get the water running right, if you do 
not get the people who are unemployed; there is 60 percent 
unemployment, I just got a briefing yesterday and they told me there is 
still 60 percent unemployment. If we have 60 percent unemployment in 
this country, we are not going to be able to solve the problem.
  So we have to get the Iraqis back to work, and the reconstruction 
money is as important as anything that we can do in order to help solve 
this problem. I said when I came back, we have to get Iraqis out in the 
field and we have to get the international community involved in this, 
and we have to energize Iraq. If we do not do that, we are going to 
lose this war.
  I believe the key to winning this war is to win the hearts and minds 
of the people, and we have to overcome the X factor of the enemy. If we 
do not overcome the X factor of the enemy, we will lose this war. I 
think it is on the edge now. I am not as optimistic as a lot of people 
are. I know an awful lot of people who were optimistic initially are 
much more realistic than they used to be. But I tell my colleagues one 
thing, if we were to let this legislation not pass, we sure would not 
win this war.
  So I would urge the Members of this House to vote for this $65 
billion for the troops and the $20 billion for the reconstruction 
effort in order to get our troops back home as quickly as we can.
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the very 
distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis), the chairman of 
our Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate the 
gentleman yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I must say, at the beginning of my remarks I want the 
House to know that I deeply appreciate the comments of my colleague, 
the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), who is my partner on this 
subcommittee; and I also want to say to the House that I am rising this 
evening with no small amount of serious concern about the problems that 
are facing my constituents in my own district where literally the whole 
district is on fire. It is an incredible time.
  But a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to take perhaps the 
largest delegation that has traveled to Iraq since we have been 
involved there, a group of Members numbering some 17 of us, a fabulous 
cross-section of the House: Democrats and Republicans, liberals, 
conservatives, Members who had voted against the war, Members who 
supported the war. But we saw many things in a relatively short trip, 
but one thing was absolutely certain. We all became convinced that 
Saddam Hussein absolutely is one of the most outrageous tyrants of 
modern time, rivaling Hitler's Germany, certainly rivaling that which 
the Russian leadership was all about.
  While we were there, we visited circumstances that reflect the worst 
of what this tyrant has done to his people, a people who have had no 
opportunity for freedom in their lifetime, a people who have been 
oppressed if they dared oppose him, and people who were killed in the 
tens and tens of thousands. Visiting the killing fields was an amazing 
experience where in one location, tens of thousands had been killed on 
that spot, and similar locations across the country. This person did 
not hesitate to wipe out huge portions of his own population, ranging 
between 500,000 and maybe 1.5 million people.
  In turn, that delegation was amazed to see what had been done to the 
children of Iraq, suggesting that he was even willing to see that 
children were fed formula that was mixed with sewage water, caring 
nothing about the future of those children and those families.
  So America is there to make a commitment to the future of these 
people in hopes that they really will experience freedom.

                              {time}  2245

  General Petraeus, who was one of the key commanders that we dealt 
with, said that the money that was most important to his success was 
that money that was going to reconstruction. That, the General told us, 
the security of his troops was very much connected to the sense that 
America was about creating new opportunities there and laying the 
foundation for freedom. And, indeed, he felt it deeply, that was the 
way to make sure that our people, our troops come home as soon as 
possible.
  Let me just make one more point. That is there is no doubt that if we 
are successful in our efforts in Iraq, we are about to play a role in 
creating a model in the Middle East that could change the future of 
that entire region.
  There is absolutely no question that this success could take us down 
a pathway that could lead to a new kind of peaceful opportunity, a new 
roadway in the entire region. I truly believe that we have a chance at 
this moment to make a difference about the entire future of the Middle 
East. And it is a Democrat and Republican effort. The gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) has been fundamental in helping me be 
successful in the military side of this, but both of us recognize just 
how important the reconstruction effort is as well.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished minority leader.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Obey), the distinguished ranking member on the Committee on 
Appropriations, for yielding and for his leadership. I appreciate the 
Obey alternative that was not able to be offered but that he put forth. 
And I will speak to that in just a moment.
  I rise in opposition to the supplemental. And, in doing so, I want to 
acknowledge the extraordinary commitment of our distinguished chairman 
to our troops. For him it is a family matter. His wife has been, as all 
have said over and over, an angel to the young men and women that have 
come back from combat and are at the Bethesda

[[Page 26499]]

Naval Medical Center and the Walter Reed Hospital. And all of us who 
have visited them salute their courage, their patriotism, the sacrifice 
they are willing to make for our country. I had the privilege of doing 
that on a number of occasions with the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Murtha), as well as visiting the troops in Kuwait.
  Mr. Speaker, it is not a question as to whether we support the 
troops. Of, course, we all do. So I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your 
extraordinary commitment there, and, as well, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey.) In fact, in the Obey substitute there was $4.6 
billion more for the troops. Unfortunately, the rules prevented us from 
taking up the alternative simply because it was paid for. Funny rules, 
but there they are.
  I commend the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) for working with 
the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), where we finally were 
able to get some of the equipment that the troops need to protect 
themselves as they fight this fight in Iraq. They are precious to us. 
Again, we salute them. But we cannot send them into battle unless they 
are adequately equipped.
  May I offer my condolences and sympathy to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lewis) for the losses in his district and that of many 
in our great State of California. I salute the firefighters who also 
are taking risks for us in our Golden State. Because, quite frankly, 
one of my dismays with the administration on their proposals are that 
with the $63 billion that we gave them last spring and the summer with 
a practically unanimous vote, it was not even an issue, of course, the 
money would be sent. When the President asked for the $87 billion, we 
later learned that the troops still did not have the kevlar lining in 
their vests, in their flak jackets, at least 44,000 of them did not. 
They still did not have jammers to prevent the improvised explosive 
devices from taking their lives. They still did not have the tracks for 
the Bradleys. They still did not have the spare parts for nearly half 
of their equipment.
  The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) visited there, raised a 
ruckus, but still they did not have it in the $63 billion package in 
the summer; they still do not have it, this the $87 billion request 
from the President. I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Murtha) for his extraordinary leadership on behalf of the troops. We 
salute them here on this floor; he works for them every day. And 
without his raising the ruckus, they still would not have it in this 
bill, but he and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) made that 
possible. And we are all in their debt, all of us who care about the 
troops. And I know that that includes every single person here.
  As respectful as I am of our distinguished chairman, I beg to differ 
on the exit strategy. What he stated is something that we all share: A 
goal that we will successfully accomplish our mission in restoring 
stability to Iraq. We all agree that that must be done. That is a goal. 
It is an exit strategy. The administration did not have one, nor did 
they have a plan. That is a very sad thing. They did not have a plan 
for postwar Iraq.
  Whatever one's view was going into the war, that is history. That was 
then. Now, we know we have to accomplish the mission, we have to 
support our troops, and we have to have them come home safely and 
hopefully soon.
  General Zinni's words just resonate with me. They challenge the 
conscience of our country. General Zinni, retired Marine Corps General 
Anthony Zinni said, and I quote, ``America's men and women in uniform 
should never be put on the battlefield without a strategic plan not 
only for the fighting, our generals will take care of that, but for the 
aftermath and winning that war. Where are we, the American people, if 
we accept this level of sacrifice without that level of planning?''
  So not only does the administration not have an exit strategy, they 
do not have a plan. The level of sacrifice has not been met with the 
level of planning. Because President Bush lacked an adequate plan for 
postwar Iraq, American soldiers are taking virtually all of the risks 
and American taxpayers are paying virtually all of the bills.
  As I said, Democrats offered an alternative that would have spent an 
additional $4.6 billion to protect U.S. forces and converted half of 
the reconstruction loans to loans through the World Bank, thereby 
costing U.S. taxpayers less, avoiding an increase in the deficit, and 
encouraging greater international participation. Unfortunately, House 
Republicans prevented a vote on that proposal. And last week 84 
Republicans joined Democrats in favoring loans showing that this is not 
a partisan issue.
  Threats of a Presidential veto if the loans were included in the 
final bill ignore, really, bipartisan majorities in both Houses of 
Congress and the opinion of most Americans.
  Last night the conferees turned a deaf ear to the American people and 
the will of both Houses by stripping the loan provision from the 
conference report. And so tonight we are being asked to vote on a 
conference report that hands the President another blank check for 
postwar Iraq.
  This conference report reflects no change in the administration's 
failing postwar Iraq policy. The $63 billion for Iraq approved last 
spring has not been adequately accounted for. We do not have any 
accountability for the policy and, yet, here we are poised to approve 
$87 billion for more.
  I certainly agree with what has been said on both sides of the aisle; 
the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) said it most recently when 
he talked about the need for the reconstruction, and the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lewis) referenced it too. Certainly, we know that 
reconstruction funds are necessary in Iraq. We know that that is 
important to the safety and the security of our troops. And I think we 
are blessed in this body to have the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe) 
and the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Lowey) as the Chair and ranking 
member of the Committee on Appropriations subcommittee that will deal 
with that. They are internationalists, they understand the importance 
of that. But I do not think we should have a gold-plated, no-bid-
contract kind of a way to approach these.
  And that was the beauty of the proposal of the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey). It gave them $7 billion to use immediately, which 
was what the World Bank said their absorptive capacity was now, and 
sends the rest of the money on to the World Bank to be capitalized 4 to 
1, $28 billion for this important reconstruction.
  The gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) referenced General 
Petraeus. Anyone who has visited the theater knows what a hero he is, 
101st Airborne, great, great, great troops that we are very proud of. 
General Petraeus pointed out an incident where the U.S. engineers 
called for $15 million to turn a cement factory into a state-of-the-art 
cement factory. Our troops working with the Iraqis, this is one of 
General Petraeus's projects, our troops working with the Iraqis got it 
up and running not for $15 million, but for $80,000. For $80,000.
  So that is why when we are not having loans but we are having grants, 
and our grandchildren and children have to pay for all of this without 
any thought of getting any reduction of our deficit from the gushing 
oil fields of Iraq, should they ever gush forth, it just does not seem 
right.
  Mr. Speaker, what is really sad about all of this in terms of the 
cost, when the administration came to the Congress and to the Committee 
on Appropriations, Secretary Wolfowitz said we are dealing with a 
country that can really finance its own reconstruction and relatively 
soon. He said that shortly after we went into full combat with Iraq. 
Mr. Wolfowitz said we are dealing with a country that can really 
finance its own reconstruction and relatively soon. He miscalculated 
the cost, that is for sure. Ignoring the advice of our own State 
Department, indeed the Bush administration's own State Department about 
what to expect in postwar Iraq, and that is a matter of record, it has 
been published in the assessment that was made after the war, Center 
for Army's Lessons

[[Page 26500]]

Learned at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, we know that we did not really 
even supply our troops with the intelligence, the actionable 
intelligence they needed to protect themselves and to accomplish the 
mission.
  So we miscalculated the cost, we misunderstood the risks, we do not 
have the intelligence. And the administration, again, ignored its own 
report from the State Department about what some of the challenges 
would be.
  Miscalculation, misrepresentation of the cost, misunderstanding of 
the challenge. Where is the accountability? We need to get that 
intelligence for our troops just as surely we need to get the kevlar 
lining for their flak jackets. They are not going to be protected, 
unless we have the intelligence that is needed to protect them.
  So that is why when this blank check of $87 billion comes to the 
floor, it begs some questions about what we really are doing for our 
troops. Our intentions are all very, very positive. We know that. But 
the military is telling us they do not have the intelligence to protect 
the troops. The military is telling us that.
  The State Department told the administration what to expect and that 
was ignored.
  So in any event, I think I have made my point about I think there was 
a better way. Let us do this right. We know this is not the last 
request we are going to receive. The administration told us the day the 
President made the request for $87 billion. They called my chief of 
staff and said it is going to cost $50 to $75 billion more. So this is 
just an installment, an installment that is going to be paid for by our 
grandchildren. I think there is a better way to do it. I am sorry we do 
not have that opportunity tonight. And that is why I will be voting 
against the supplemental.
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the 
distinguished gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe), the chairman of our 
Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related 
Programs of the Committee on Appropriations.
  Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by commending the work of our 
chairman and ranking member and all the other subcommittee chairmen 
that worked so hard to bring this bill together. I think it has been 
truly a work that has brought about an outstanding piece of 
legislation.
  I am going to describe some of the elements of the legislation in 
just its bare outline, so people do know what is actually in this bill. 
The amount as we have already heard is the total amount of the 
appropriation bill, $87\1/2\ billion. The foreign operations chapter is 
$21.21 billion, which is just a bit less than the President had 
requested.
  Let me begin, Mr. Speaker, by saying that I strongly support the 
objectives President Bush and our leadership seek to achieve with this 
supplemental request for Iraq and Afghanistan. The supplemental bill 
supports our men and women in uniform, and it provides the 
reconstruction resources to stabilize and improve conditions in those 
countries.

                              {time}  2300

  These resources are essential to achieving victory and to enabling 
our troops to come home. Let me cover a few of those highlights.
  First, there is $18.6 billion for the Iraq relief and reconstruction 
account. That is $1.7 billion below the request, but $200 million more 
than the Senate-passed bill. It includes $3.24 billion for security and 
law enforcement, $1.32 billion for justice and civil society, $5.5 
billion for the electric sector, almost $1.9 billion for the oil 
infrastructure, $4.3 billion for water resources and sanitation, and 
$793 million for health care, among many of the other things that are 
included in there.
  The point is that I think these, Mr. Speaker, are the right types of 
investments. They comprehensively support both the Iraqi people and the 
physical infrastructure to modernize that country and put it on the 
path to economic development, security, and stability. These funds are 
essential investments in the welfare of our troops.
  The conference agreement does not provide funds for trash trucks, for 
$50,000-per-bed prisons, or for ZIP code systems and what we regard as 
other low projects. The House took the lead on these issues, and we 
were pleased to see the Senate's support for this approach. On the 
other hand, we have added funding for a few programs where we saw gaps 
in the strategy. For example, there is $100 million included for the 
development of an Iraqi constitution, building democratic institutions 
and to prepare for holding free and open elections. It is important to 
note that this conference agreement also makes a number of management 
improvements, including the submission of financial plans projecting 
project by project details on this Iraq reconstruction account.
  The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished 
minority leader, talked about where is the plan. We have a plan and we 
specifically require a spending plan to be submitted by the 
administrator and OMB so that we have an opportunity to see that and 
have that updated every 3 months.
  The conferees agreed with the House position to create a new 
appropriation account entitled ``Operating Expenses of the Coalition 
Provisional Authority'' rather than leave this activity buried within 
the Army's $24 billion operation maintenance appropriations account. 
The CPA will have an operating budget of some $983 million, and we have 
agreed with the Senate to provide an Inspector General for this 
organization.
  Further, we have included language requiring the Office of Management 
and Budget to transmit to Congress real financial budget and personnel 
data on the CPA.
  I am pleased we were able to work out an agreement on competition and 
contracting. The agreement strongly supports full and open competition. 
We require Ambassador Bremer and the head of any Federal agency 
providing contracting service for Iraq reconstruction to jointly 
certify to Congress if other than full and open competition is being 
pursued.
  Mr. Speaker, this agreement is not about Iraq alone. The conference 
agreement does provide almost $1.2 billion for our reconstruction 
efforts in Afghanistan, and that is $350 million above the President's 
request.
  The agreement provides an additional $287 million to support the 
training, equipping, and operations of the new Afghan Army. Also 
included is $60 million to improve economic opportunity and the 
standard of living of women in Afghanistan. These resources support 
technical and vocational education and will fight against abuse of 
women. They support education for young women who have been denied all 
of these decades the opportunity to even learn to read.
  The conference report includes $181 million to repair and reconstruct 
roads in Afghanistan and to provide that nation with transportation 
infrastructure linking its cities as well as its rural areas.
  Mr. Speaker, I have sought to briefly provide a few of the highlights 
of this conference agreement. Any conference means compromise, and 
there are clearly issues which we would have wanted to come out 
differently; but on the whole, this conference agreement resembles 
closely the bill that was overwhelmingly supported here in the House a 
couple of weeks ago. Let me say that this bill supports our President, 
our men and women in uniform, and our Nation. This agreement is about 
American foreign policy objectives, and it is about our leadership in 
the world.
  This conference agreement is about completing the job, not just 
destroying the tyrannical regime of Saddam Hussein, but also building a 
stable Iraq at peace with its neighbors in the Middle East. This 
conference is about remembering that much needs to be done to build a 
new Afghanistan, one secure and free from the Taliban.
  This conference agreement is about continuing the war on terrorism 
and not giving in to the vicious and cowardly attacks against not only 
our Armed Forces but against the Iraqi, the Afghan and, yes, the 
American people. This conference agreement is

[[Page 26501]]

about maintaining our national security. It is a good conference 
agreement. I urge its adoption.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, how much time remains on both sides?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Goodlatte). The gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Mr. Obey) has 23 minutes remaining. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Young) has 13\1/2\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), the ranking Democrat on the 
Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related 
Programs.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, in the last few days we have witnessed 
another tragic string of attacks in Iraq. Our troops, our allies, and 
our mission are under constant fire. I feel very strongly that we must 
pass this package to protect our troops and to provide the funds to 
stabilize Iraq. For me that is the most efficient way to bring our 
troops home as soon as possible and bring some normalcy to that region.
  There were problems with the initial $87 billion request, and I do 
believe that the House with the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) and 
the ranking member, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), in the 
lead modified it appropriately. The prudent cuts made in the House 
survived conference which is good, and important additions were made.
  Our continued efforts in Afghanistan, formerly the headquarters of al 
Qaeda, have received the funding needed to make sure that the gains we 
have made do not slip away. We cannot allow that country to again be a 
haven to groups that would attack us. We did not forget the victims of 
the Taliban regime either; $60 million were included for women's 
empowerment and participation programs. If anyone doubts the importance 
of women in the development of stable and prosperous states, let them 
read the remarkable ``Arab Human Developments Reports.'' Written by 
Arab scholars, the reports name three causes for the underdevelopment 
in some Arab nations: lack of freedom, lack of knowledge, and lack of 
women's empowerment. As its 2002 report says, ``Society as a whole 
suffers when half of its productive potential is stifled.''
  The women of this House and Senate know that and are determined that 
the United States will aggressively and directly provide for 
opportunities for the women of Afghanistan and Iraq and to help their 
countries grow strong; and so $10 million was similarly set aside for 
women's programs in Iraq.
  We also directed $90 million in Iraq for education, an essential 
building block of a free society, and an area for which insufficient 
funds had been originally requested by the administration. The 
explanation for me seemed to be that education was a ``soft area,'' 
soft meaning secondary, I believe popular with international donors. 
Let us leave it to them to fund education.
  I vigorously disagree with this reasoning, and I am very glad that 
our chairman, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe), worked with me to 
get these dollars in this bill.
  One need only consider the effect that this soft area has in places 
like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan where children are sent to madrassas and 
are taught intolerance and hate and breed the terrorists. Education is 
not a secondary matter. It is a direct security interest to the United 
States, and, again, I want to thank the conferees for endorsing this 
priority.
  Concerns about competitive contracting and obtaining timely and 
accurate reports from the administration on Iraq were addressed, 
unfortunately, in my judgment, with broad waivers that weaken them 
substantially. An Inspector General was created for the CPA, but the 
other body insisted on the waiver which gives the President the ability 
to withhold any information in the name of national security. A similar 
waiver applies to the disclosure of noncompetitive contracting. And I 
do fear that these waivers will leads to more sole-source contracts 
awarded behind closed doors. The House must monitor this very closely.
  Finally, there was the question of loans versus grants. A constituent 
asked a very simple question: Why can we not lend money to Iraq? Iraq 
has such a wealth of oil.
  It is a reasonable question; and in my judgment, we should have given 
them a reasonable and prudent compromise. It is unfortunate that this 
was not accomplished in conference.
  I truly believe that failure in Iraq would create a dangerous vacuum 
in the heart of the Middle East. It would be a place where hatred of 
the United States and violence against us would thrive, but the gravity 
of the situation should not lower our standards for planning and 
execution; it should raise them. There are lives on the line in Iraq 
and Afghanistan, and our actions will impact the future of all 
Americans, especially our children and our grandchildren. We owe them 
caution, honesty, and realism as we face these next stages in Iraq and 
Afghanistan.
  I strongly support the supplemental. I believe the appropriations for 
our troops and for reconstruction are equally important and essential 
to our mission.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Skelton).
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, it is the constitutional job of the 
Congress of the United States to maintain and support the armed 
services of our country. I stand here in support of this resolution 
tonight because of that constitutional duty. And I know there have been 
many bits of discussion about the pros and cons of the line items in 
this bill. And I know that there are clouds that hang over the question 
of intelligence as to our initial decision going into Iraq. And I know 
there are clouds that hang over the decision-making process as to our 
going in.
  But the American troops are there. It is our duty to support them so 
that they may be victorious in this very arduous and difficult, unique 
and never-seen-before challenge that Americans in uniform have had.
  I had the opportunity about a month ago to visit with young folks in 
uniform, actually of all services, in and around Iraq, to look at their 
faces and know that each one of them whether they came from small towns 
or inner cities or some from suburbs of America, that they knew their 
duty, that they were good soldiers, that they wore the American uniform 
proudly, and that they had a mission to accomplish.
  For us tonight, we have a mission to accomplish and that mission is 
to support this resolution. We have no other choice.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott).
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, the entire Persian Gulf War 12 years ago cost the United 
States less than $8 billion. The total cost of the war was over $60 
billion, but because allies were participating our share was only 12 
percent of the cost. Now we have already spent $79 billion on the 
present war in Iraq. We are asked to spend $87 billion more for a total 
of $166 billion so far.

                              {time}  2315

  To put the $166 billion in perspective, Mr. Speaker, the total 
appropriation for this fiscal year for the U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security and the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. 
Department of Education and Department of Labor and Department of State 
was less than $166 billion. On a per capita basis, $166 billion is more 
for each person in Iraq than the total annual government spending in 
the United States for each of our American citizens for everything 
other than Social Security and defense.
  Although this is a huge expenditure, the administration does not even 
give lip service to explain how the bill will be paid, no outline of 
spending cuts or increased taxes. The administration says we cannot 
lend the money to Iraq because they are too far in debt, and yet the 
national debt in Iraq is approximately $4,000 a person. The national 
debt of the United States, $20,000 per person.
  A vote on this bill represents the only opportunity Congress has to 
consider the President's policies in Iraq

[[Page 26502]]

since October of last year, and the President's decision to invade 
unilaterally without allies has meant that we are paying 100 percent of 
the costs of the war in cash and in casualties, and a yes vote on this 
bill will mean that no significant attempt will be made to get 
international participation.
  Mr. Speaker, we have had widespread reports of contracting fraud, and 
a vote on this bill means that we will get more of the same.
  During the campaign, the President frequently insisted that no troops 
would ever be deployed without an exit strategy, and not only do we not 
have an exit strategy, we do not even have a good entry strategy. The 
President has acknowledged that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. No 
weapons of mass destruction have been found. Iraq was never an imminent 
threat to the United States, and so we cannot get an exit strategy, if 
we cannot explain why we are there in the first place. A yes vote on 
the bill forfeits any congressional opportunity to require a meaningful 
exit strategy.
  Now whatever, there are a lot of reasons to vote no, but if this 
passage of the bill would make us safer, we might want to vote yes. 
Unfortunately, even before the war, the CIA concluded that Iraq posed 
very little threat to the United States at that time, but would pose a 
threat if we attacked them. This policy, which includes the expenditure 
of $166 billion and the loss of many courageous lives, has failed to 
make us safer.
  Mr. Speaker, because this bill represents such a huge expenditure and 
validates failed policies, I would ask that we defeat the legislation.
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the very 
distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham) who as a Naval 
fighter pilot became the first Ace in the war in Vietnam.
  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, the young lady from San Francisco said 
that she is not going to vote for this bill. That did not surprise me a 
bit. When a person has a 35 percent defense rating, the highest ever in 
a career, it does not surprise me that this young lady would vote 
against this bill. The troops know, they know each and every one of us 
and what we do. I became a Republican, I was a Democrat, because of the 
folks in this body that turned their backs on us, many of us in 
Vietnam, some of those Republicans, too.
  To say, well, I am not going to vote for a bill that gives me the 
tools to do my job and survive, all these kids want to do is to be able 
to complete their mission, do their job and get home safely, and to 
deny them these funds that will do that, they know, and they know what 
their mission is every single day.
  Mr. Speaker, I think to deny the many, many positive things that are 
going on, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) took a whole group, 
as he said, Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals and others, 
to Iraq and you know what, even those that were opposed to Iraq when 
they got there and saw what was going on there, the positive things, 
the men and the women that were walking down the streets free. Now, 
there are some bad areas, Tikrit and Baghdad, but if my colleagues go 
to the south and go to the north, we have got young girls going to 
school now. They could not do that before.
  That is the plan, and these kids that are over there know that. They 
know it every single day. To deny that is a slap in the face to them, 
and all they want to do is do their job, and that is why it is 
important that those people that say, well, we should not be there, we 
are going to deny this money to these kids, that is wrong, because part 
of the mission is to build up Iraq so that we only ask one thing of 
them, that is, to give us a free and stable democracy, not ours, not 
Britain's, but their own. And you know what, the folks in Israel 
appreciate that.
  I flew in Israel and I know a stable Iraq, a stable Afghanistan, a 
stable Saudi Arabia. Do my colleagues know that Saudi Arabia since May, 
when the al Qaeda bombed them, they found over 20 tons of explosives 
from Saddam Hussein to al Qaeda? Saudi Arabia's arrested them. They 
would have not done that before. My colleagues want to know what our 
plan is? They found SA-7 stingers that were coming to the United 
States. My colleagues know what our plan is? I would rather fight them 
there than here and give our kids the tools.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez).
  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, once again, we failed to provide for our 
veterans. If today is like many other days since Operation Iraqi 
Freedom began, wounded troops will continue to arrive at Walter Reed 
Army Hospital or other military treatment facilities. About 10 each day 
have continued to arrive.
  The military lists thousands. In fact, a couple of weeks ago it is 
over 1,500 that have been wounded in action or disabled, nonbattle 
injuries since the conflict in Iraq began. Thousands more may have come 
to our veterans hospitals in search of the medical care for conditions 
that may become evident the days and months after their military 
service has ended.
  This summer, this House broke that promise with our veterans. Our 
budget resolution promised to add $1.8 billion for veterans. Yet the 
appropriations we approved for the VA added nothing. I had an 
opportunity and I went before the Committee on Rules and you had an 
opportunity to correct that, and at the same time I mentioned to you 
that you have provided $2 million for health care for Iraqis but you 
could not allow the opportunity for us to provide that $1.8 billion as 
an opportunity for our own veterans as they come back.
  We have had another chance to add these funds, and we have continued 
to fail. This supplemental rightly addresses the needs of our troops, 
but it also allows the military to provide better equipment and 
supplies, but we have to continue to remember that we also have an 
obligation to those veterans after they come back and as we just this 
week on Tuesday, we had a chance to visit Walter Reed, and we saw those 
veterans, where they have lost some of their limbs.
  So I ask and appeal to my colleagues that right now, just to be able 
to complete and continue to provide the services that we provide now, 
we need $1.8 billion for our veterans health care to be able to do 
that, not to mention the fact that we need additional resources.
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Kirk), who actually flew extremely important 
missions over Iraq as part of Northern Watch.
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, let me read a quote. ``Americans are losing 
the victory. The troops returning home are worried. `We've lost the 
peace,' men tell you. Before the landings, liberation meant to be freed 
of tyranny. Now it stands in the minds of civilians for one thing, 
looting. Never has American prestige been lower. `Have you no statesmen 
in America?' they ask.''
  This sounds like a report from Iraq. It is not. These words were 
written 57 years ago about the American occupation of Germany. 
Appearing in the January 7, 1946, edition of Life magazine, John Dos 
Passos wrote, ``We have swept away Hitlerism but Europeans now feel 
that the cure has been worse than the disease.''
  Under subtitles like ``U.S. administration a poor third'' and ``the 
skeptical French press,'' Life magazine warned that the U.S. occupation 
in Europe had failed.
  Luckily, President Truman did not listen. He knew the failed peace 
after World War I doomed a second generation of Americans to fight in 
Europe's killing fields. Truman did not do popular things. He ordered 
the U.S. Army to remain in Europe, and despite George Washington's 
advice against alliances, he signed our first military alliance with 
NATO. He also launched the most expensive foreign aid program in our 
history, $105 billion for the Marshall Plan. He did this to avoid 
sending a third generation of Americans to fight in Europe, and he 
succeeded.
  We now have fought two wars in Iraq. How many more should we fight? 
The failed peace of Desert Storm guaranteed a second Iraqi war. We have 
already now sent two generations of Americans to Iraq. I think we 
should

[[Page 26503]]

make sure that we do not send a third. We need to finish this job so 
that young Americans a decade from now do not have to refight this war.
  Despite the current media reports that sound just like the 1946 Life 
magazine report, we need to follow the example of Harry Truman. We need 
to do this job right so that our sons and daughters are not condemned 
to a third Persian Gulf War.
  How much would my colleagues pay to avoid a third war in Iraq? 
Avoiding such a war is worth our effort tonight as we pass this bill to 
finish the job.
  Let me say one note of personal privilege. No one knows more about 
the defense and foreign policy of our country than the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. 
Lowey) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), and I really want 
to highlight their leadership and personally thank them for following 
the maxim, ``partisanship should end at the water's edge.''
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the 
distinguished gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp), a member of the 
committee.
  Mr. WAMP. Mr. Speaker, we are at the end of a 6-week process, and I 
am proud of the work that the House has accomplished. We cannot afford 
to fail in Iraq.
  The best and brightest in this House have scrubbed the proposal sent 
from the White House. We have done our best work, and now it is time to 
vote. Those who say this is a blank check from the White House are just 
not telling it like it is. This is a world changing paradigm shift on 
the other side of the world.
  I think back to the bipartisan retreat early this year. I was there. 
Thomas Friedman came from the New York Times, spoke to a large group 
and said, maybe we are not going about this right, but we need to do 
this. He really said this needs to happen, an experiment in the 22 Arab 
countries to promote democracy and make this investment.
  We were all hit with sticker shock. Eighty-seven billion dollars is a 
huge number. It shocked me but we now realize how important it is. It 
is going to be incalculable the benefits of this investment.
  The big debate came down to loans versus grants. When I looked the 
President eye to eye, he said we believe we are going to get U.N. 
support. We did, unanimous, for a U.S.-led peacekeeping force in Iraq. 
We are making progress. Frankly, I was disappointed with Madrid. I say 
to the White House tonight, prove us wrong on the loans; work until we 
get more global support. I believe we need to.
  The bottom line is this is an unprecedented situation in the history 
of the world, and we have got to step up. It is easy to demagogue an 
$87 billion request. It is easy to critique it, but tonight we have got 
to vote. I think it is difficult, difficult to vote no. If my 
colleagues have to hold their nose and vote yes tonight, do it. I am 
going to grit my teeth and vote yes tonight and say that we cannot 
afford to fail in Iraq.

                              {time}  2330

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire of the Chair how 
much time I have remaining.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Goodlatte). The gentleman from Florida 
(Mr. Young) has 5\1/2\ minutes remaining, and the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) has 11\1/2\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman needs it, I will be happy to 
yield him 1\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. YOUNG OF Florida. That would be very appreciated.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Lewis).
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I neglected earlier to express 
my deep appreciation to the conferees for their responding to the 
challenge in our district that involved some $500 million that is now 
going to go through the process here to FEMA to help those people who 
are presently out of their homes, people who suddenly have no place to 
live and the like.
  And, Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for yielding me 
this time.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Lofgren).
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to note that many in the 
California delegation are distressed that the much-needed $500 million 
for relief for the fire funding is tied up with the $87 billion for 
Iraq that many of us oppose. Tonight we have introduced a stand-alone 
bill to provide the same $500 million in relief for California, and we 
would urge that that be used as a vehicle instead of this supplemental.
  We think it is a problem to have the two mixed. It lends a political 
component to this that should never be present when we are dealing with 
victims of an awful tragedy such as this. So I wanted the whole House 
to know of the feeling of the 33 Democratic members of the California 
delegation that we ought to have a separate fire relief measure for 
California.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to read the following words from a very 
distinguished American statesman written 5 years ago: ``Trying to 
eliminate Saddam would have incurred incalculable human and political 
costs. We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule 
Iraq. There was no viable exit strategy we could see, violating another 
of our principles. Furthermore, we had been self-consciously trying to 
set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going 
in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations 
mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response 
to aggression that we had hoped to achieve. Had we gone the invasion 
route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power 
in a bitterly hostile land.''
  The man who said that was George Herbert Walker Bush 5 years ago. 
Now, his advice was not taken, and we now are facing the question of 
what to do next.
  Frankly, how we voted on going to war in the first place is, in my 
view, in considering this legislation, irrelevant. The question, to me, 
is not whether we are going to vote for or against this package 
tonight. I think in many ways how we cast our individual votes on this 
package is secondary.
  The issue is whether the policy which is now being followed in the 
war's aftermath is the right policy, whether it is wired together well 
enough in the details in order to achieve the success that every single 
Member of this body wants to see the President achieve. After all, he 
is our President, regardless of party. And after all, these are our 
sons and daughters and brothers and sisters and cousins and uncles and 
aunts wearing our uniform and representing our country in that very 
difficult circumstance tonight.
  But the policy is the issue. If the policy is the right policy, then 
it probably will not matter whether we appropriate $20 billion more or 
less than we are appropriating tonight. We will have a good chance of 
succeeding. And if the policy is not wired together right, then all the 
money that we can provide will not produce a happy ending.
  I want to explain why under these circumstances I will be voting 
``no'' tonight. As the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) said 
earlier, we have previously appropriated well over $60 billion, and we 
provided maximum flexibility to the Defense Department in spending that 
money. Yet with that flexibility we saw the shortages of inserts in the 
Kevlar vests, we saw the shortage of jammers, we saw the shortage of 
adequate protection for the unarmored Humvees, all of which have put 
our troops at risk. We have seen inadequate supplies of drinking water 
for our troops. And the very general in charge of the operation has 
told us in our hearings that he still does not know how it happened. 
And now we are being asked to provide $87 billion more.
  The question is not whether the administration will get this money. 
They will get this money, and they will get a whole lot more because 
this is just the downpayment. The question is

[[Page 26504]]

whether or not in the providing of this money we will use our leverage 
and use our power of the purse to force the agencies and the 
administration to think through more clearly how it is that they are 
going to accomplish the goals which they have stated. That, to me, is 
the detailed question.
  Now, we do not have any idea, and the administration has given us no 
idea, of what their range of expectation is in terms of cost over the 
next 5 years. We should have some idea so that we can prepare our own 
constituents to support this over the long haul. We do not have that 
information. But we do know, at least I am convinced of the unpleasant 
truth, and I very much agree with Senator McCain on this, I am 
convinced that if we are to accomplish this job, we do not have enough 
troops on the ground in Iraq right now. We either need more troops from 
our allies, or we need more help from the Iraqi remnants that can be 
reasonably relied upon; or we are going to need more U.S. troops, or 
our troops will unnecessarily suffer higher casualties than they would 
otherwise suffer.
  Now, it is not pleasant to tell the American people that we may need 
more troops rather than less before this is over; but talking to the 
experts whom I trust, that is what I believe.
  We also do know that the agencies involved in running this policy so 
far have managed to find the single most expensive way to deliver this 
aid, because they are following a high-tech strategy that involves deep 
involvement by these huge multinational corporations, like Bechtel and 
Halliburton and a dozen others, instead of relying on a more indigenous 
low-tech approach that can put more Iraqis to work so they have 
something more productive to do than shoot Americans.
  I also think that we do know that at this point the administration 
has given us not a clue about how or how soon they expect to repair the 
Army. We have equipment from over five divisions that at this point 
needs reconstitution; it needs refurbishing. We have been told by the 
Army that that alone is going to cost above $17 billion, and the 
administration has asked for less than $2 billion.
  The American public needs to know the facts, and they need to know 
the costs; and they do not need to have it revealed to them on the 
installment plan. It should be provided up front so that we can take 
the case to our public.
  We also have the other problem, that this package does not pay for 
itself. We borrow it all. And so that means that just the interest 
payments alone will amount to about $4 billion more than we would be 
paying if we paid for this cash on the barrel head. And that is $4 
billion on interest payments that will shove out money that would 
otherwise be available for education, for health care, and for other 
needed domestic efforts, including infrastructure.
  I will be offering a motion to recommit. It will not allow us, 
because of the restraint of the rules, to get at the basic problems in 
the policy; but it will allow us to at least try to improve it around 
the edges. First, we will try to restore the funding for veterans 
health care that was taken out of the bill. Because while we have been 
told that that will be taken care of in the VA HUD bill, we have been 
given no idea of how. So that has yet to become a reality.
  Second, the recommittal motion would ask that we accept the Senate 
provision which would convert $10 billion of this reconstruction 
program to loans, with the proviso that if our allies in fact forgive 
prior loans to Iraq, then we will forgive this loan as well.
  Now, there are those who say Iraq cannot afford that. Let me point 
out Iraq is a country of 23 million people. They are getting $20 
billion in reconstruction. That is $872 per capita, 10 times as much as 
the annual per capita aid under the Marshall Plan to all of Europe.
  Mr. Speaker, let me simply ask for an ``aye'' vote on the recommittal 
motion.
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been said that this bill is a blank check. I wish 
to provide for the Record at this point a table that shows that it is 
not a blank check, and that it is very specific in the money that it 
appropriates.

          Highlights of the War Supplemental Conference Report

       President's Request: $87 billion.
       Conference report: $87.5 billion.


                     Iraq Relief and Reconstruction

       President's Request: $20.3 billion.
       Conference report: $18.6 billion.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              Supplemental   Conference
          Category and Description               Request      Agreement
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Security and law enforcement:
    Police training and technical assistance          950           950
    Traffic police..........................           50             -
    Border Enforcement......................          150           150
    Facilities Protection Services..........           67            67
                                             ---------------------------
            Subtotal, Law enforcement.......        1,217         1,167
    Establishment of the New Iraqi Army             2,000         2,000
     (NIA)..................................
        (NIA Facilities)....................         (745)         (745)
        (NIA Equipment).....................         (879)         (879)
        (NIA Operations and Training).......         (375)         (375)
    Iraq Civil Defense Corps................           76            76
        (Operations and Personnel)..........        (58.4)        (58.4)
        (Equipment).........................        (17.2)        (17.2)
                                             ---------------------------
            Subtotal, National Security.....        2,076         2,076
                                             ---------------------------
              Total, Security and Law               3,293         3,293
             Enforcement....................
Justice, Public Safety Infrastructure and
 Civil Society:
    Witness Protection Program..............          100            75
    Other technical investigative methods...           10            10
    Penal facilities........................          400           100
    Reconstruction and modernization of               109           109
     detention facilities...................
    Facilities protection, mine removal,              500           400
     fire service, and public safety
     facility and equipment repairs.........
    (Demining)..............................          (61)          (61)
    Public safety training and facilities...          274           199
    National Security Communications Network          150           100
    Investigations of crimes against                  100            75
     humanity...............................
    Judicial security and facilities........          200           150
    Democracy building activities...........            -           100
                                             ---------------------------
              Total, Justice, Public Safety         1,843         1,318
             Infrastructure and Civil
             Society........................
Electric Sector:
    Generation..............................        2,900         2,810
    Transmission............................        1,550         1,550
    Network infrastructure..................        1,000         1,000
    Automated monitoring and control system.          150           150
    Institutional strengthening.............           25             -
    Security................................           50            50
                                             ---------------------------
              Total, Electric Sector........        5,675         5,560
Oil Infrastructure:
    Infrastructure..........................        1,200         1,200
    Emergency supplies of refined petroleum           900           690
     products...............................
                                             ---------------------------
              Total, Oil Infrastructure.....        2,100         1,890
Water Resources and Sanitation:
    Potable water...........................        2,830         2,830
    Water conservation......................           30            30
    Sewerage................................          697           675
    Solid waste management/trash trucks.....          153             -
    Other solid waste management............            -            22
                                             ---------------------------
            Subtotal, Public Works Projects.        3,710         3,557
    Pumping stations and generators.........          150           150
    Irrigation and drainage systems.........          130           130
    Major irrigation projects...............          130           130
    Dam repair, rehab, and new construction.          125           125
    Umm Qasr to Basra water pipeline and              200           200
     treatment plant........................
    Marsh projects..........................          100             -
    Basra Channel Flushing..................           40            40
                                             ---------------------------
            Subtotal, Water Resources                 875           775
             projects.......................
                                             ---------------------------
              Total, Water Resources and            4,585         4,332
             Sanitation.....................
Transportation and Telecommunications
 Projects:
    Airports................................          165           165
    Umm Qasr Port rehab.....................           45            45
    Railroad rehab and restoration..........          303           300
    Iraqi Telecom and Postal Corporation....          124           100
        (Postal IT / ZIP Codes).............           (9)           (-)
    Iraqi Communications systems............          109            95
        (Business practices for Iraqi TV and          (10)           (-)
         radio).............................
        (Numbering scheme/911 initiative)...           (4)           (-)
    Iraqi Communications operations.........           89            75
    Undistributed reduction, transportation             -          -280
     and telecommunications.................
                                             ---------------------------
              Total, Transportation and               835           500
             Telecommunications Projects....
Roads, Bridges, and Construction:
    Housing construction....................          100             -
    Public buildings construction and repair          130           130
    Roads and bridges.......................          240           240
                                             ---------------------------
              Total, Roads, Bridges, and              470           370
             Construction...................
Heath care:
    Nationwide hospital and clinic                    393           493
     improvements\1\........................
    Equipment procurement and modernization.          300           399
    Initiate 700m Basrah hospital project...          150             -
    Health care partnerships................            7             -
                                             ---------------------------
              Total, Health Care............          850           793
Private Sector Development:
    American-Iraqi Enterprise Fund..........          200             -
    Expanded network of Employment Centers..            8             8
    Training................................          145           100
    Micro-Small-Medium Enterprises..........            -            45
                                             ---------------------------
              Total, Private Sector                   353           153
             Development....................
Education, Refugees, Human Rights,
 Democracy, and Governance:
    Migration and Refugee Assistance........          105           105
    Local Information Centers...............           90             -
    Property Claims Tribunal................           30            30
    Banking system modernizations...........           30            30
    Business training courses...............           20             -
    Human rights............................           15            15
    Education...............................            -            90
    Civic programs..........................           10            10
                                             ---------------------------
              Total, Education, Refugees,             300           280
             Human Rights, and Governance...
Transfer/financing..........................            -           210
                                             ---------------------------
              Total, Iraq Relief and               20,304        18,649
             Reconstruction Fund............
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Includes $35 million for pediatric facility in Basra.


[[Page 26505]]

       Operating Expenses of the Coalition Provisional Authority 
     (CPA)--The mark provides a direct appropriation of $983 
     million to the Coalition Provisional Authority for their 
     operating expenses instead of providing these funds in the 
     U.S. Army, Operation and Maintenance accounts as requested.
       Foreign Debt--The bill includes a prohibition on the use of 
     any funds in this act to be used to pay Iraq's foreign debts.
       Inspector General--The bill provides for the establishment 
     of an Inspector General for the CPA.


                 afghanistan relief and reconstruction

       President's Request: $800 million.
       Conference report: $1.2 billion.
       These funds are provided generally for infrastructure 
     improvements, in support of women's programs, security 
     assistance and economic development. The additional funds are 
     intended to show tangible improvement in the security and 
     quality of life of most Afghans by the summer of 2004.


                            national defense

       President's Request: $65.1 billion.
       Conference report: $64.7 billion.

                                                  SUMMARY TABLE
                                            [In thousands of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Request       House        Senate     Conference
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Military Personnel:
    Military Personnel, Army................................   12,858,870   12,188,870   12,858,870   12,858,870
    Military Personnel, Navy................................      816,100      816,100      816,100      816,100
    Military Personnel, Marine Corps........................      753,190      753,190      753,190      753,190
    Military Personnel, Air Force...........................    3,384,700    3,384,700    3,384,700    3,384,700
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
        Total Military Personnel............................   17,812,860   17,142,860   17,812,860   17,812,860
Operation and Maintenance:
    O&M, Army...............................................   24,190,464   24,257,664   24,946,464   23,997,064
    O&M, Navy...............................................    2,106,258    1,934,058    1,976,258    1,956,258
    O&M, Marine Corps.......................................    1,198,981    1,198,981    1,198,981    1,198,981
    O&M, Air Force..........................................    5,948,368    5,598,368    5,516,368    5,416,368
    O&M, Defense-Wide.......................................    4,618,452    4,485,452    4,218,452    4,355,452
    O&M, Marine Corps Reserve...............................       16,000       16,000       16,000       16,000
    O&M, Air Force Reserve..................................       53,000       53,000       53,000       53,000
    O&M, Air National Guard.................................      214,000      214,000      214,000      214,000
    Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster and Civic Aid...........       35,000       35,000       35,000       35,000
    Iraq Freedom Fund.......................................    1,988,600    2,086,000    1,988,600    1,988,600
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
        Total Operation and Maintenance.....................   40,369,623   39,879,623   40,163,623   39,231,223
Procurement:
    Missile Procurement, Army...............................        6,200  ...........        6,200  ...........
    Procurement of WTCV, Army...............................       46,000      101,600      104,000      101,600
    Other Procurement, Army.................................      930,687    1,250,287    1,078,687    1,143,687
    Aircraft Procurement, Navy..............................      128,600      158,600      128,600      158,600
    Other Procurement, Navy.................................       76,357       76,357       76,357       76,357
    Procurement, Marine Corps...............................      123,397      123,397      123,397      123,397
    Aircraft Procurement, Air Force.........................       40,972       53,972       40,972       53,972
    Missile Procurement, Air Force..........................       20,450       20,450       20,450       20,450
    Other Procurement, Air Force............................    3,441,006    3,418,006    3,441,006    3,438,006
    Procurement, Defense-Wide...............................      435,635      418,635      435,635      418,635
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
        Total Procurement...................................    5,249,304    5,621,304    5,455,304    5,534,704
Research, Development, Test and Evaluation:
    RDT&E, Navy.............................................       34,000       34,000       34,000       34,000
    RDT&E, Air Force........................................       39,070       39,070       39,070       39,070
    RDT&E, Defense-Wide.....................................      265,817      195,817      265,817      260,817
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
        Total RDT&E.........................................      338,887      268,887      338,887      333,887
Revolving and Management Funds:
    Defense Working Capital Funds...........................      600,000      600,000      600,000      600,000
    National Defense Sealift Fund...........................       24,000       24,000       24,000       24,000
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
        Total Revolving & Management Funds..................      624,000      624,000      624,000      624,000
Other Department of Defense Programs:
    Defense Health Program..................................      658,380      658,380      658,380      658,380
    Drug Interdiction & Counter-Drug Activities, Defense....       73,000       73,000       73,000       73,000
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
        Total Other.........................................      731,380      731,380      731,380      731,380
Related Agencies:
    Intelligence Community Management Account...............       21,500       21,500       21,500       21,500
General Provisions:
    Storm Damage (Sec. 1109)................................  ...........      413,300  ...........      313,000
    Munitions Security and Destruction (Sec. 1121)..........  ...........  ...........  ...........      100,000
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
        Grand Total Chapter 1...............................   65,147,554   64,702,854   65,147,554   64,702,554
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

         highlights of the defense portion of conference report

       Force Protection --The conference report increases funds to 
     purchase body armor Special Armor Plate Insert, to clear 
     unexploded ordnance and to increase production of other force 
     protection measures such as armored HMMVV's and electronic 
     jammers.
       Tricare and Reservist Health Care Benefits--The conference 
     report allows inactive reservist and their family members to 
     become eligible for TRICARE health care coverage if they are 
     receiving unemployment compensation or not eligible for any 
     other health coverage. It also includes provisions that 
     expands eligibility time periods for reservists and provides 
     Medical and Dental Screening and Care coverage where 
     appropriate.
       Meal Allowances--Prohibits service members injured in 
     combat or training from being billed for meals during their 
     hospitalization. Makes this benefit retroactive to 9/11/2001 
     and provides reimbursement for those who have already paid 
     meal charges.
       Hazard Pay and Family Support--The mark includes a proposed 
     provision which authorizes continued payment of per diem for 
     travel of family members of military personnel who are ill or 
     injured as result of active duty service and includes a 
     provision to continue the increased monthly rate of Imminent 
     Danger Pay and Family Separation Allowances through September 
     30, 2004.
       Recovery of Natural Disasters--The conference report 
     includes $313 million, not requested by the Administration, 
     for recovery and repairs to damage to military facilities 
     caused by Hurricane Isabel. $525 million is provided for 
     military construction activities related to the war on 
     terrorism and to make repairs to facilities damaged by recent 
     natural disasters.


                    commerce justice state programs

       President's Request: $187 million.
       Conference Report: $580 million.
       The following is a selected lists of items funded under the 
     Commerce-Justice-State title of the bill: $245 million for 
     peacekeeping activities in Liberia; $44 million for a secure 
     embassy facility in Kabul, Afghanistan; $40 million for an 
     Arabic broadcasting services to Iraq trough the Broadcasting 
     Board of Governors; $50 million to provide rewards to 
     individuals for information leading to the capture of Saddam 
     Hussein and Osama Bin Laden.


                              other items

       FEMA Disaster Assistance--the Bill provides $500 million 
     for FEMA disaster assistance to be available for recently 
     declared disasters.

  Mr. Young of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it has been said there is no plan. 
I disagree. There was a plan. The plan is in operation. The first part 
of the plan was to eliminate Saddam Hussein and his tyrannical regime. 
That has happened. To defeat Saddam's armies and his military. That has 
happened. Now, the second part of the plan is to stabilize Iraq so that 
the people of Iraq can create their own government, and

[[Page 26506]]

can create their own infrastructure and give people a quality of life. 
Where we are at risk today is from terrorists. Terrorism is raising its 
ugly head in Iraq. Our soldiers have been attacked; the United Nations 
headquarters has been attacked and the International Red Cross has been 
attacked.
  Now, we did not start this war on terrorism. I think we ought to just 
for a minute review this. On February 26, 1993, the World Trade Center 
was bombed in New York. Six lives were lost. On June 25, 1996, Khobar 
Towers in Saudi Arabia was bombed. Nineteen Americans living there were 
killed. On August 7, 1998, American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania 
were bombed. There were 259 lives lost. On October 12, 2000, the USS 
Cole off the coast of Yemen was bombed and 17 sailors were killed, with 
many others injured.
  These were acts of terrorism. Our response was rather tepid, and the 
terrorists became bolder and became more aggressive.
  And on September 11 of 2001, a hijacked airplane crashed into the 
World Trade Center, tower number one. The second airplane hijacked 
crashed into the second tower of the World Trade Center, with nearly 
3,000 lives lost or unaccounted for. On September 11, 2001, a hijacked 
plane crashed into the Pentagon, right across the river, with 189 lives 
lost. On September 11, 2001, a hijacked plane crashed in rural 
Pennsylvania, with 44 lives lost.

                              {time}  2345

  Mr. Speaker, we did not start this war on terrorism. These are 
examples of how terrorists started the war on terrorism, and thank God 
we finally responded because if we did not respond, the terrorists 
would become more bold and more aggressive and more of a threat. So 
what we are doing in Iraq, in Afghanistan, what we are doing with this 
appropriations bill tonight, we are investing in a future where our 
children and grandchildren and great grandchildren can live free from 
the fear of terrorists, free from the fear of airplanes flying into our 
buildings, free from the threat of losing lives and using loved ones to 
terrorists. It is important that we support the President of the United 
States as he leads this fight against international terrorism wherever 
it might be, and this bill is part of that effort, and I ask for a yes 
vote on this bill.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am here tonight to say that I 
cannot believe that this supplemental bill is handing over billions and 
billions of dollars in reconstruction funding to Iraq through direct 
grants . . . let me repeat that--Direct Grants! And where do these 
direct grants come from? Directly from America taxpayers' pockets. 
That's where. Instead of following the Senate bill and giving Iraq 
loans to rebuild, we are flat out throwing money at them with no 
oversight. While here at home the Republican leadership continues with 
their only legislative agenda item: Tax cuts for their country club 
friends, and pushing our Treasury further into debt, our citizens are 
being forced to pay for building a country that was unnecessarily 
destroyed in the first place, because it has never been proven that 
there is a link between Iraq and September 11.
  And while Congress hands over blank checks to this Administration, 
the media has given them a free ride. While the Republican-controlled 
Congress continues to send billions of dollars overseas without 
accountability, the media continues to cover up the facts. All the 
while the President continues to lie to the American public about the 
very reason our troops are over there. Mr. Speaker, our troops are 
doing their job, it is the Members of this body that are not doing 
theirs.
  The Republicans keep telling us this bill is all about the soldiers, 
and everyone in this Congress supports our soldiers. But how can a bill 
for our soldiers not include money for basic protections like body 
armor, boots, camouflage, rucksacks, armored vehicles, tank tracks, 
Humvee tires, signal jammers, and chemical suits. We can't even provide 
these brave men and women with simple necessities like drinking water, 
showers, tennis shoes, and even toothpaste.
  I am still working for accountability from the other side of the 
aisle. Yes, Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly support our troops, and I am 
still trying to figure out why, after Congress appropriated $79 billion 
for Iraq just 6 months ago, we are going to vote on yet another $87 
billion appropriation today. Whatever happened to the first $79 
billion? The American public deserves more from their elected 
representatives, and they deserve some accountability for this funding.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, since the President first proposed his $87 
billion supplemental appropriations package last month, I have worried 
that the President's plan for bringing stability to Iraq lacks fiscal 
accountability and a clear plan for bringing our troops home, and has 
relied on U.S. troops taking almost all the risks, and American 
taxpayers paying virtually all the bills.
  I have been angered by the repeated stories of our troops in Iraq not 
being outfitted with state-of-the-art Kevler bulletproof vests and 
armored HMMVVs.
  Equally troubling is the lack of parity for important funding at 
home. This bill sends direct aid to Iraq for infrastructure 
improvements that dwarf investments in our own country. The bill spends 
nearly twice as much per capita for border protection and public safety 
services in Iraq as we spend at home, and 10 times more per capita in 
Iraq for new hospital facilities than we spend in the United States. In 
addition, this bill spends 11 times more per capita for sewer and water 
services than we invest in our own cities, and 350 times more per 
capita on rehabilitating Iraq's electric power infrastructure than we 
are spending on fixing similar problems here at home.
  During the House's debate on this bill 2 weeks ago, I offered an 
amendment to add emergency funding for eliminating the ``disabled 
veterans tax,'' toppling an unfair law that prevents service disabled 
veterans from receiving their full military retired pay and VA 
disability compensation. This amendment, ruled out of order by the 
Republican majority, drew attention to just one of the many 
infrastructure and social service spending shortfalls at home that are 
ignored in this emergency appropriations bill.
  Two weeks ago, I voted ``no'' to giving the President a blank check 
for Iraq while falling behind in investing in our infrastructure and 
social service needs at home. Today, I will vote ``yes'' because of the 
terrible suffering and devastation endured by the citizens of San Diego 
County as a result of the firestorm still raging today; $500 million 
has been added for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster 
assistance in California. Earlier this week, I contacted FEMA Director 
Michael Brown and President Bush, urging them to make a FEMA center 
operational immediately in San Diego, to help my constituents in 
processing the necessary paperwork to begin the process of rebuilding 
their lives. This important funding will allow FEMA to open one-stop 
clearinghouses for information and assistance in expediting the huge 
volume of disaster claims that will result from this tragedy.
  In addition, this bill increases funds to purchase body armor Special 
Armor Plate Inserts, and to increase production of armored HMMVVs, 
which will give our soldiers the protections they should have had all 
along. I have joined a number of my colleagues in calling for a full 
congressional hearing to investigate the many reports of American men 
and women fighting in Iraq without adequate lifesaving body armor--an 
indication that our preparation for this war was inadequate.
  Today, I vote ``yes'' because our soldiers serving in harm's way 
deserve the best protection and resources our Nation can provide. And 
because I know, in a very personal way, the suffering of San Diegans in 
the current firestorm and because I want to say ``thank you'' to the 
thousands of professional firefighters who exhibited so much bravery 
and courage in recent days.
  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to voice my support for a provision 
included in this legislation that was offered by myself, Congresswoman 
Biggert, Congressman Hyde, and Congressman Lantos, which devotes 
$60,000,000 to programs that will help Afghan women and girls, and 
$5,000,000 to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.
  This funding will go a long way toward making the lives of Afghan 
women better by providing critical services and by ensuring that they 
are not relegated to second-class status.
  I would like to thank my colleagues Congressman Young, Congressman 
Kolbe, Congresswoman Biggert, Congressman Hyde, and Congressman Lantos 
for their help in securing this funding as well as our counterparts in 
the other body who care so deeply about this issue.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
legislation and urge its prompt adoption this evening.
  I want to commend the chairman of the committee and the chairmen of 
the Defense and Foreign Operations Subcommittees for their expeditious 
and effective handling of this emergency supplemental for Iraq and 
Afghanistan.
  To our young soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan: Help is on the way. 
Difficulties remain,

[[Page 26507]]

especially in the ``Sunni triangle.'' It continues to be a dangerous 
place. But we're there to finish the job--terrorists, Saddam loyalists, 
and common criminals must be pursued and brought to justice.
  This bill is more than just dollars and cents--this is direct support 
for the safety and security of our young troops standing in harm's way 
and for the reconstruction of Iraq. It's the resources our troops need: 
Better weapons, reliable intelligence, more ammunition, body armor, 
vehicles, better pay, and additional equipment to get the job done.
  For example, the conference report increases funds to purchase body 
armor Special Armor Plate Insert, to clear unexploded ordnance and to 
increase production of other force protection measures such as armored 
HMMVV's and electronic jammers.
  Quality of life for our troops and their families is also important.
  The conference report includes a provision which authorizes continued 
payment of per diem for travel of family members of military personnel 
who are ill or injured as a result of active duty service and includes 
a provision to continue the increased monthly rate of Imminent Danger 
Pay and Family Separation Allowances through September 30, 2004.
  In addition, the Conference report requires DOD to notify reservists 
in writing of their expected mobilization and deployment period--to 
help reduce the uncertainty many reservists have faced regarding call-
up times, departure dates, and overseas deployment periods.
  The conference report also provides $32 million for the Family 
Advocacy program, and $10 million for the National Guard Family 
Readiness Program--programs which provide support services to military 
families, especially those who have faced losses, or who have a family 
member deployed.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, the report prohibits service members injured in 
combat or training from being billed for meals during their 
hospitalization. Make this benefit retroactive to 9/11/2001 and 
provides reimbursement for those who have already paid meal charges.
  Of course, we mourn the loss of any American soldier and pray for the 
early recovery of our wounded. We are forever in their debt and reject 
the mindless notion that their sacrifice is in vain.
  Mr. Speaker, the Coalition Provincial Authority, working with our 
military and civilian officials of 131 nations, especially the United 
States Agency for International Development has been working hard to 
improve the quality of life and deliver needed assistance.
  This Supplemental for Iraq and Afghanistan will go toward creating 
conditions on the ground in Iraq that will enable our troops to succeed 
in their mission--by providing the basic services and humanitarian 
relief that will make a big difference in stabilizing the country.
  Mr. Speaker, the reconstruction package is critical to the military 
mission. I urge its adoption.
  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, I am greatly disappointed that conferees have 
disregarded the House-approved motion to instruct and eliminated the 
provision to add $1.3 billion to veteran's health care. While I 
understand the need for additional funding may be addressed in VA-HUD 
appropriations, I am concerned that if we add funds to that bill 
contingent upon the President's designating them emergency spending the 
effort will be in vain. The Administration has already told Mr. Young 
and Mr. Obey it does not support additional funds for veterans' health 
care. Let's not break yet another commitment to our veterans by giving 
them this empty promise in exchange for funding that would have been 
real.
  The cost of not adding significant funds for veterans' health care 
will be great. VA has been making progress with waiting times, but it 
is likely to regress under the administration-proposed budget. The 
Secretary is likely to propose more copayments for our veterans; more 
overblown ``management efficiencies''; more service restrictions; and, 
even more groups of veterans it will refuse to enroll. If we want to 
deal with these consequences, continue to support the President's 
budget as requested. If we don't, we'll add some real appropriated 
dollars for veterans' health care.
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 3289, the 
Iraq War Supplemental. In my opinion, this massive $87 billion spending 
bill is flawed and should be sent back to the White House to be 
redrafted.
  There are three areas that if properly addressed would have made this 
a bill that would have served the interests of the American people, as 
well as the people of Iraq.
  First, this appropriation is 100 percent financed by deficit 
spending. The Bush administration has handed out trillions of dollars 
in tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and created record setting 
deficits for middle-class Americans and their children to pay off. In 
fiscal year 2004 alone, it is projected that almost $600 billion in 
deficit spending will occur in 2004 alone. This unprecedented extreme 
of fiscal irresponsibility must be stopped.
  The ``emergency'' spending bill for Iraq should not be paid for by 
the next generation of Americans, but paid for today by rolling back 
the tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans making over $350,000 per year. 
Shared sacrifice does not mean that only our troops, their families, 
and the next generation of tax payers should shoulder the burden of the 
President's Iraq policy.
  Second, the Pentagon's practice of sole-source contracting in Iraq 
worth billions of dollars for Halliburton and Bechtel with no 
accountability to Congress or the American people cannot be allowed to 
continue. I find this noncompetitive contracting to be absolutely 
unacceptable. Given Vice President Cheney's on-going financial 
relationship with Halliburton, this situation is all the more 
troublesome. The emergency supplemental only perpetuates Halliburton's 
outrageous war pprofiteering at taxpayer expense.
  Finally, as U.S. troops attempt to rebuild Iraq they are targets of 
constant guerrilla attacks--now averaging more than 30 attacks a day, 
euphemistically called ``events'' by the Pentagon. With $63 billion 
appropriated only last April to the Pentagon, our service men and women 
still have not been provided with adequate necessities to keep 
themselves safe. Reports indicate our troops are short more than 44,000 
Kevlar vests, they lack the jamming technology that prevents remote 
radio detonated bombings and they do not have adequate access to 
purified water or sufficient food rations.
  As tax dollars are appropriated for our military in Iraq, the needs 
of our troops must come first, not the neo-conservative political 
agenda of Secretary Rumsfeld or Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz. The 
Pentagon was provided more than $490,000 for each of the 130,000 
soldiers in Iraq since April. Yet, today, U.S. troops are still without 
enough Kevlar vests or clean water--this is outrageous and more money 
is not the solution. Before billions more are simply handed over to 
bureaucrats in the Pentagon, Congress needs to ensure the needs of our 
troops on the frontlines are met and the Pentagon is held accountable.
  Over the course of the past 18 months, the Bush administration's 
policy toward Iraq has been aggressive, obsessive and pre-emptive. The 
distortions, manipulations, and politicization of national security 
intelligence related to Iraq allowed this White House to sell the 
American people a war in which an imminent threat did not exist, but 
was apparently manufactured. Now our troops are risking their lives in 
a guerilla war and occupation with no end in sight, while America's 
most pressing priorities at home are being neglected.
  Last year, I opposed the congressional resolution that gave President 
Bush a blank check to use our military and I have been very critical of 
the administration's policy actions since then. Nonetheless, as reality 
presents itself today, all of us--our troops, the American people, the 
Iraqi people and the international community--have a major stake in a 
stable, secure, and successful transition of control for United States 
occupation, to the international community and eventually complete 
Iraqi sovereignty.
  We cannot withdraw our troops and walk away from Iraq, but we must 
demand a better performance than the failure of this White House to 
appropriately plan for the reality of the situation in Iraq or in its 
dealings with the international community. President Bush must do a 
better job.
  This week, I will be traveling in the Middle East and inside Iraq. I 
hope to see the reality of the situation--the successes and the 
problems--faced by United States troops, civilians and the people of 
Iraq. But even before going to Iraq, I know it is time for this 
administration to tone down its harsh, unproductive rhetoric, work in a 
bipartisan fashion with Congress and work more positively with the 
international community for an accountable and sustainable plan for 
Iraq. Finally, even though the time has long past, it is never too late 
for President Bush to be honest with the American people about the 
extended commitment and sacrifice, both militarily and financial, all 
Americans will have to make to be successful in Iraq. This is an 
enormous challenge and the credibility and prestige of the United 
States is at stake.
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Goodlatte). All time has expired.
  Without objection, the previous question is ordered on the conference 
report.
  There was no objection.


                 Motion to Recommit Offered by Mr. Obey

  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to recommit.

[[Page 26508]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman opposed to the conference 
report?
  Mr. OBEY. Yes, I am, in its present form.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to 
recommit.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mr. Obey moves to recommit the conference report on the 
     bill H.R. 3289 to the committee of conference with 
     instructions to the managers on the part of the House to--
       (1) accept section 2319 of the Senate amendment (making 
     $10,000,000,000 of the amounts provided under the subheading 
     ``IRAQ RELIEF AND RECONSTRUCTION FUND'' available to be used 
     as loans), and
       (2) accept Title IV of the Senate amendment (providing 
     $1,300,000,000 for veterans medical care).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The motion is not debatable.
  Without objection, the previous question is ordered on the motion to 
recommit.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to recommit.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Evidently a quorum is not present.
  The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
  Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, the Chair will reduce to 5 minutes 
the minimum time for the electronic vote on the question of adoption of 
the conference report.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 198, 
nays 221, not voting 15, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 600]

                               YEAS--198

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Alexander
     Allen
     Andrews
     Baca
     Baird
     Baldwin
     Becerra
     Bell
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (OH)
     Brown, Corrine
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardin
     Cardoza
     Carson (IN)
     Carson (OK)
     Chabot
     Clay
     Clyburn
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costello
     Cramer
     Crowley
     Cummings
     Davis (AL)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (TN)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Deutsch
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle
     Edwards
     Emanuel
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Ford
     Frank (MA)
     Frost
     Gonzalez
     Goode
     Gordon
     Green (TX)
     Grijalva
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Hill
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hoeffel
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hooley (OR)
     Hoyer
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     John
     Johnson, E. B.
     Jones (NC)
     Jones (OH)
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick
     Kind
     Kleczka
     Lampson
     Langevin
     Lantos
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Lucas (KY)
     Lynch
     Majette
     Maloney
     Markey
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Michaud
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller, George
     Mollohan
     Moore
     Moran (VA)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal (MA)
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Paul
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Peterson (MN)
     Pomeroy
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Rodriguez
     Rohrabacher
     Ross
     Rothman
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sabo
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sanders
     Sandlin
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Scott (GA)
     Scott (VA)
     Serrano
     Sherman
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Solis
     Spratt
     Stark
     Stearns
     Stenholm
     Strickland
     Tancredo
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Taylor (MS)
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Towns
     Turner (TX)
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Waters
     Watson
     Watt
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Wexler
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Wynn

                               NAYS--221

     Aderholt
     Bachus
     Baker
     Ballenger
     Barrett (SC)
     Bartlett (MD)
     Barton (TX)
     Bass
     Beauprez
     Bereuter
     Biggert
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (UT)
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bonner
     Bono
     Boozman
     Brady (TX)
     Brown (SC)
     Brown-Waite, Ginny
     Burgess
     Burns
     Burr
     Burton (IN)
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Cannon
     Cantor
     Capito
     Carter
     Castle
     Chocola
     Coble
     Cole
     Collins
     Cox
     Crane
     Crenshaw
     Cubin
     Culberson
     Cunningham
     Davis, Jo Ann
     Davis, Tom
     Deal (GA)
     DeLay
     DeMint
     Diaz-Balart, L.
     Diaz-Balart, M.
     Dooley (CA)
     Doolittle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Ehlers
     Emerson
     English
     Everett
     Feeney
     Ferguson
     Flake
     Foley
     Forbes
     Fossella
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Garrett (NJ)
     Gerlach
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gingrey
     Goodlatte
     Goss
     Granger
     Graves
     Green (WI)
     Greenwood
     Gutknecht
     Hall
     Harris
     Hart
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hyde
     Isakson
     Issa
     Istook
     Janklow
     Jenkins
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, Sam
     Keller
     Kelly
     Kennedy (MN)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kirk
     Kline
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     Kucinich
     LaHood
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Leach
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     LoBiondo
     Lucas (OK)
     Manzullo
     Marshall
     McCrery
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McKeon
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller, Gary
     Moran (KS)
     Murphy
     Murtha
     Musgrave
     Myrick
     Nethercutt
     Neugebauer
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nunes
     Nussle
     Osborne
     Ose
     Otter
     Oxley
     Pence
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Pickering
     Pitts
     Platts
     Pombo
     Porter
     Portman
     Pryce (OH)
     Putnam
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     Ramstad
     Regula
     Rehberg
     Renzi
     Reynolds
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Ryun (KS)
     Saxton
     Schrock
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Sherwood
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simmons
     Simpson
     Skelton
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Snyder
     Souder
     Sullivan
     Sweeney
     Tauzin
     Taylor (NC)
     Terry
     Thomas
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Toomey
     Turner (OH)
     Upton
     Vitter
     Walden (OR)
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wilson (NM)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wolf
     Young (FL)

                             NOT VOTING--15

     Akin
     Ballance
     Blumenauer
     Boehlert
     Bradley (NH)
     Case
     Fletcher
     Gephardt
     Gutierrez
     McCotter
     Miller (NC)
     Pearce
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Stupak
     Young (AK)


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Goodlatte) (during the vote). Members 
are advised that there are 2 minutes remaining in this vote.

                              {time}  0006

  Messrs. KUCINICH, NUSSLE, and BURTON of Indiana changed their vote 
from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Mr. DAVIS of Florida changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So the motion to recommit was rejected.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the conference report.
  Pursuant to clause 10 of rule XX, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  This will be a 5-minute vote.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 298, 
nays 121, not voting 15, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 601]

                               YEAS--298

     Aderholt
     Alexander
     Allen
     Andrews
     Baca
     Bachus
     Baker
     Ballenger
     Barrett (SC)
     Bartlett (MD)
     Barton (TX)
     Bass
     Beauprez
     Bereuter
     Berkley
     Berman
     Biggert
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Bishop (UT)
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bonner
     Bono
     Boozman
     Boyd
     Brady (TX)
     Brown (SC)
     Brown-Waite, Ginny
     Burgess
     Burns
     Burr
     Burton (IN)
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Cannon
     Cantor
     Capito
     Cardin
     Cardoza
     Carson (IN)
     Carson (OK)
     Carter
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chocola
     Coble
     Cole
     Collins
     Cooper
     Cox
     Cramer
     Crane
     Crenshaw
     Cubin
     Culberson
     Cunningham
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (TN)
     Davis, Jo Ann
     Davis, Tom
     Deal (GA)
     DeLay
     DeMint
     Diaz-Balart, L.
     Diaz-Balart, M.
     Dicks
     Dooley (CA)
     Doolittle
     Dreier
     Dunn
     Edwards
     Ehlers
     Emanuel
     Emerson
     Engel
     English
     Etheridge
     Everett
     Feeney
     Ferguson
     Filner
     Flake
     Foley
     Forbes
     Ford
     Fossella
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Frost
     Gallegly
     Garrett (NJ)
     Gerlach

[[Page 26509]]


     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gingrey
     Gonzalez
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Gordon
     Goss
     Granger
     Graves
     Green (TX)
     Green (WI)
     Greenwood
     Gutknecht
     Hall
     Harris
     Hart
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Hill
     Hinojosa
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Holden
     Hooley (OR)
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hoyer
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hyde
     Isakson
     Israel
     Issa
     Istook
     Janklow
     Jenkins
     John
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (NC)
     Keller
     Kelly
     Kennedy (MN)
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kind
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kirk
     Kline
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     LaHood
     Lampson
     Langevin
     Lantos
     Larsen (WA)
     Latham
     Leach
     Levin
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Lowey
     Lucas (KY)
     Lucas (OK)
     Lynch
     Maloney
     Manzullo
     Marshall
     Matheson
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCrery
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McNulty
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller, Gary
     Mollohan
     Moore
     Moran (KS)
     Murphy
     Murtha
     Musgrave
     Myrick
     Neal (MA)
     Nethercutt
     Neugebauer
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nunes
     Nussle
     Ortiz
     Osborne
     Ose
     Oxley
     Pascrell
     Pence
     Peterson (MN)
     Peterson (PA)
     Pickering
     Pitts
     Platts
     Pombo
     Pomeroy
     Porter
     Portman
     Price (NC)
     Pryce (OH)
     Putnam
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     Ramstad
     Regula
     Rehberg
     Renzi
     Reyes
     Reynolds
     Rodriguez
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Ross
     Rothman
     Royce
     Ruppersberger
     Ryan (WI)
     Ryun (KS)
     Sabo
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sandlin
     Saxton
     Schrock
     Scott (GA)
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Sherwood
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simmons
     Simpson
     Skelton
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Snyder
     Souder
     Spratt
     Stearns
     Stenholm
     Sullivan
     Sweeney
     Tancredo
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Tauzin
     Taylor (MS)
     Taylor (NC)
     Terry
     Thomas
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Toomey
     Turner (OH)
     Turner (TX)
     Upton
     Visclosky
     Vitter
     Walden (OR)
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wilson (NM)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wolf
     Young (FL)

                               NAYS--121

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Baird
     Baldwin
     Becerra
     Bell
     Berry
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (OH)
     Brown, Corrine
     Capps
     Capuano
     Clay
     Clyburn
     Conyers
     Costello
     Crowley
     Cummings
     Davis (AL)
     Davis (IL)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Deutsch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle
     Duncan
     Eshoo
     Evans
     Farr
     Fattah
     Frank (MA)
     Grijalva
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Hinchey
     Hoeffel
     Holt
     Honda
     Inslee
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Johnson, E. B.
     Jones (OH)
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick
     Kleczka
     Kucinich
     Larson (CT)
     LaTourette
     Lee
     Lewis (GA)
     Lofgren
     Majette
     Markey
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Michaud
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller, George
     Moran (VA)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Otter
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pastor
     Paul
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Petri
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Roybal-Allard
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanders
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Scott (VA)
     Serrano
     Sherman
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Solis
     Stark
     Strickland
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Towns
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Waters
     Watson
     Watt
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Wexler
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Wynn

                             NOT VOTING--15

     Akin
     Ballance
     Blumenauer
     Boehlert
     Bradley (NH)
     Case
     Fletcher
     Gephardt
     Gutierrez
     McCotter
     Miller (NC)
     Pearce
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Stupak
     Young (AK)


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). Members are advised that 
they have 2 minutes remaining to vote.

                              {time}  0012

  So the conference report was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________