[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14148]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          SAD DAY FOR AMERICA

  (Ms. SHEA-PORTER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Mr. Speaker, this is a very sad day for our country. 
Once again, the President is going to be handed a blank check by the 
Republicans. Last year the Republicans took a lot longer than the 
Democrats on this side of the aisle to pass this supplemental. Every 
year they have given the President exactly what he wanted: a blank 
check.
  This time we said to the President twice, we will give the money as 
long as you meet certain criteria, responsible criteria; and he said, 
no. He had to have it completely his way, running the war in the fifth 
year the way he ran it in the first year and the fourth year, without 
any kind of check, sending our brave troops into battle without the 
equipment they need. And if they come home injured, failing to care for 
them and providing for them what they need at home.
  We tried to give our brave troops a 3.5 percent pay raise. The 
President said, no. He supports the troops but not financially, not 
physically and not in the ways that really matter.
  So here we are approaching Memorial Day, and once again, we are 
leaving our troops unprotected while they have a political battle about 
this. And they can't go back to their districts and tell the truth.
  I will vote against this supplemental because I am voting for the 
troops.

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