[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12437-12438]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     AMERICA NEEDS ANSWERS ON ADMINISTRATION'S USE OF DEFENSE MONEY

  (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, as the House debates defense 
authorization, it is fair for the American people to ask

[[Page 12438]]

what is happening to their tax dollars going for defense. Over $1 
trillion in Department of Defense accounts remains unreconciled. Audits 
have been suspended.
  Worse, this administration led this Nation into a war based on the 
pretext that Iraq was an imminent threat, which it was not. The 
President described Iraq as an imminent threat. It was not. The 
Secretary of State presented pictures to the world which he offered as 
proof. But as of today, with the administration having total control 
over Iraq, nothing that has been said has been substantiated.
  Where are the weapons of mass destruction? What was the basis for 
this war? How can we spend $400 billion for defense if we cannot defend 
the truth? How do we defend the truth if we do not demand answers from 
an administration which took this Nation into a war on a pretext?

                          ____________________