[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 13791-13792]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I appreciate the remarks of the Senator 
from New Jersey.
  I rise today to express my disappointment, both in the final version 
of the supplemental spending bill that we expect to consider today, and 
in the process that led to this badly flawed bill. Those two concerns 
are linked because the flawed procedure the Senate adopted when we 
passed a sham supplemental bill last week, without debate or 
amendments, helped grease the wheels for a final bill that contains no 
binding language on redeployment. While our brave troops are stuck in 
the middle of a civil war in Iraq, we have a bill with political 
benchmarks that

[[Page 13792]]

lack meaningful consequences if they are not reached.
  Legislation as important as this funding bill should have been openly 
considered in this body. I am talking about an open and on-the-record 
debate with amendments offered and voted upon. That is the way the 
Senate is supposed to operate. I shared the desire of my colleagues to 
pass this important bill as quickly as possible, but that was no excuse 
for us avoiding our responsibilities as legislators. Unquestionably, it 
was easier and faster for us to send a place holder bill back to the 
House. By doing that, the real work could be done behind closed doors 
where all kinds of horse trading can occur and decisions are unknown 
until the final deal is sealed. That process makes it a lot easier for 
most Members of Congress to avoid responsibility for the final 
outcome--we didn't have to cast any votes or make any difficult 
decisions. In short, we didn't have to do any legislating.
  Now that we face a badly flawed, take-it-or-leave-it bill, we can 
simply shrug, apparently, and tell our constituents we did the best we 
could. That is not good enough, not when we are talking about the most 
pressing issue facing this country.
  In the 5 months we have been in control of Congress, a unified 
Democratic caucus, with the help of some Republicans, has made great 
strides toward changing the course in Iraq. We were able to pass the 
first supplemental bill, supported by a majority of the Senate, that 
required the phased redeployment of our troops to begin in 120 days.
  Last week, a majority of Democrats supported ending the current open-
ended mission by March 31, 2008. It has been almost 1 year since 13 
Senators supported the proposal I offered with Senator Kerry that would 
have brought our troops out of Iraq by this summer. Now, 29 Senators 
support an even stronger measure, enforced by Congress's power of the 
purse, to safely redeploy our troops.
  Unfortunately, after that strong vote, we are now moving backward. 
Instead of forcing the President to safely redeploy our troops, instead 
of coming up with a strategy providing assistance to a postredeployment 
Iraq, and instead of a renewed focus on the global fight against al-
Qaida, we are faced with a spending bill that just kicks the can down 
the road and buys the administration time.
  But why, I ask you, would we buy the administration more time? Why 
should we wait any longer? Since the war began in March 2003, we have 
lost more than 3,420 Americans, with over 71 killed since the beginning 
of this month. Last month, we lost over 100 Americans. Last weekend, 
the media reported that 24 bodies were found lying in the streets of 
Baghdad, all of whom had been killed execution style. Nineteen of them 
were found within parts of the city where the troops have ``surged.''
  The administration's policy is clearly untenable. The American people 
know that, which is why they voted the way they did in November. They 
want us out of Iraq, and they want us out now. They don't want to give 
the so-called surge time. They don't want to pass this problem off to 
another President and another Congress. And they sure don't want 
another American servicemember to die or lose a limb while elected 
representatives put their own political comfort over the wishes of 
their constituents.
  It was bad enough to have the President again disregard the American 
people by escalating our involvement in Iraq. Now, too, Congress seems 
to be ignoring the will of the American people. If the American people 
cannot count on the leaders they elected to listen to them and to act 
on their demands, then something is seriously wrong with our political 
institutions or with the people who currently occupy those 
institutions.
  I urge my colleagues to reject the weak supplemental conference 
report and to stand strong as we tell the administration it is time to 
end the war that is draining our resources, straining our military, and 
undermining our national security.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Obama). The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, what is the pending business before the 
Senate?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority has 4 minutes left in morning 
business.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, on behalf of the majority, I yield back 
the time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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