[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 8493]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                CONGRESSIONAL OBLIGATION TO SEEK ANSWERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cole). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, today in Iraq, 138,000 American troops are 
putting their lives on the line. Despite the President's ``Mission 
Accomplished'' declaration, more of our brave service men and women 
died last month since any month since the war in Iraq. Deputy Defense 
Secretary Paul Wolfowitz does not know how much the war costs, or that 
764 Americans have died, but that is typical of an administration that 
refuses to admit its mistakes or explain its policies.
  The images of tortured prisoners, broadcast throughout the world, 
have done irreparable damage to our mission and credibility in the 
Middle East. Still the majority of the House and the chairman of the 
Committee on Armed Services said congressional hearings are 
unnecessary.
  Let me quote President Kennedy. ``An error does not become a mistake 
until you refuse to correct it. Without debate, without criticism, no 
administration and no country can succeed, and no republic can 
survive.''
  President Kennedy possessed the kind of leadership that allowed him 
to acknowledge mistakes and accept responsibility. But now there is a 
different standard, and today America received this response from House 
majority leader, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), commenting on 
the possibility of a congressional investigation into the scandal of 
Iraq and the torture of its prisoners, ``A full-fledged investigation, 
that is like saying we need hearings on every case of police brutality. 
I do not think they are warranted.''
  This Congress has an obligation to our constituents, to our country, 
to ask the how and the why about Iraq and seek answers. While refusing 
to hold hearings on Iraq, here is a list of what Congress has passed 
since the Easter break: Named, the John J. Pershing Post Office; named, 
the Wilkie D. Ferguson Courthouse; named, the Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Post 
Office; named, the Rhode Island Veterans Post Office; named, the 
Richard G. Wilson Postal Facility; named, the Paul Simon Federal 
Building; named, the James V. Hansen Federal Building; named, the 
Ronald Reagan Federal Building; commended the Garden Club of America; 
urged the release of Wang Bingzhang; recognized the importance of music 
education; congratulated the University of Connecticut basketball 
teams; congratulated the University of Denver men's hockey team; 
congratulated Kennesaw State University men's basketball team; 
authorized the use of Capitol grounds for the Soapbox Derby; authorized 
the use of Capitol grounds for the Police Officers' Memorial; honored 
Melvin Jones and Lions Clubs; supported the goals of Financial Literacy 
Month; supported the Green Chemistry Research and Development Act; 
authorized the Congressional Medal for Math and Science Education; 
supported Taiwan's entry into WHO; promoted freedom and democracy in 
Laos; recognized the importance of increasing autism awareness; 
increased Capital Access for Growing Business Act; and congratulated 
charter schools, to name a few.
  As worthy as this legislation may be and while we passed all of this 
unanimously, here is what our brave men and women we all love to 
acknowledge and respect, here is what their headlines said: Insurgents 
kill 12 Marines in Sunni Triangle; al Qaeda claims responsibility for 
attacks in Iraq; As multifront uprising continues, U.S. loses control 
of Najaf, Kufa to Shiite Militia; Marines were Ambushed in Ramadi; 
Three more Marines killed in Iraq; Two U.S. troops killed; Sanchez 
declares current troop strength adequate as casualties mount; Fate of 
American hostage in Iraq still unknown; Apache helicopter reported 
down; Nine Americans missing; Thirty-four foreign civilian kidnapped in 
Iraq; Five soldiers killed; April worst month for U.S. casualties; 
Pentagon extends tour of 20,000 troops in Iraq; Violence delays 
reconstruction projects; Ten U.S. soldiers killed across Iraq; U.S. 
troops in Iraq say Pentagon is failing to keep them equipped; Coast 
Guard seen as underfunded; General says Humvees are not up to the job 
in Iraq; Baghdad sniper kills American soldier; Ten U.S. troops killed 
on Thursday; Treasury agency has more employees tracking Castro than 
bin Laden; Eleven U.S. soldiers killed in four separate attacks by 
insurgents.
  That is what our troops face and that is what Congress has done. We 
have an obligation to ask questions about Iraq and seek the answers. 
The Nation's standing in the world and people's lives are at stake. We 
have spent $112 billion to date on the war and reconstruction of Iraq. 
We owe it to our constituents to ask questions and seek the answers 
that they are asking and seeking.
  And the breaking news this afternoon, the Bush administration is 
asking for an additional $25 billion without taking responsibility for 
what has happened to date.
  As President Kennedy once said, to govern is to choose. While 
Congress has named its Post Offices and used the facilities for the 
Soapbox Derby here on the Hill, Americans at home have faced these 
headlines: Dow Chemical plans to cuts 3,000 jobs; Winn-Dixie plans to 
cut 10,000 jobs.
  We can handle the Post Office naming and hold hearings into the whys 
and the hows of Iraq. We owe it to the people we represent. We are here 
to ask those questions and seek those answers.

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