[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 10507-10508]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          H.R. 1268, EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 18, 2005

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, because of this administration's lack of 
accountability for the money sent for the war in Iraq, I could not 
support this, the third emergency spending bill for Iraq, when the 
House first voted on it in March. It now comes back to us from the 
conference in worse shape than it was before, and I again cannot 
support it.
  The administration sold this war to the American people and Members 
of Congress under false pretenses, and the American people cannot 
continue to indefinitely fund this administration's gross incompetence, 
particularly without any real oversight tied to it. Meanwhile, 
important priorities here at home like homeland security and education 
go wanting for money. We have a new record level of debt, a record 
budget deficit and a record trade deficit.
  Mr. Speaker, my father and brother have both fought in wars for our 
country, and I support and honor our troops. I want nothing but the 
best protection and best equipment for them. Still, despite the 
hundreds of billions in taxpayer money that has been spent on Iraq, a 
recent New York Times report detailed how our soldiers in Iraq still 
are ill-equipped for the resistance they face. Why hasn't the money 
first and foremost gone to supply our troops with the equipment they 
need as quickly as possible?
  There have been independent audits showing billions of dollars in 
Iraq that have been misspent or that have simply gone missing. And 
there still is little to no oversight--there still is no open and 
honest accounting--to keep this administration in check, as they have 
repeatedly missed deadlines to detail the past, current and future 
spending.
  This bill now includes the REAL ID Act, which is an entirely separate 
issue from funding and should have no part of this bill. I am very 
concerned about the implementation of such sweeping provisions in this 
manner. There is no money to implement these new laws, we've had no 
hearings to understand how they would work, and the states, which would 
have to administer these laws, haven't even been consulted. 
Administratively these provisions seem difficult to implement, at best. 
Congress should never go about loading something like this onto a bill 
without full debate, but that's exactly what has happened in this case.
  Certainly, there are parts of this supplemental spending bill that I 
strongly support. The $650 million for tsunami relief and 
reconstruction is very important. It is disappointing, however, that 
the conference report does not include the amendment I introduced that 
was attached to the House version, which would have devoted $3 million 
for UNFPA's vital work in the tsunami region. This money would have 
greatly benefitted pregnant tsunami-stricken women by fostering better 
maternal health and reducing infant mortality.
  The improvement in death benefits for the military in this bill are 
crucial, and they are a long time in coming. I also support the 
provisions to aid the peace in the Sudan, as well as development 
assistance the president proposed for the West Bank and Gaza.
  Nevertheless, this administration must enforce a better accounting of 
the taxpayer money it spends. Before I can vote for another enormous 
expenditure of the American taxpayers' money for this war, I must be 
convinced that this administration will keep tabs on the money and make 
sure our troops get the equipment they need. Doing so will be good for 
the war effort, and will be good for our troops.

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