[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 20]
[House]
[Page 27594]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       THE PRESIDENT'S PRIORITIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, all too often we've seen this 
administration turn a blind eye toward the priorities of our very 
country. While the administration has consistently failed to 
demonstrate restraint when it comes to escalating the occupation of 
Iraq, it has cold-heartedly insisted on denying the children of 
struggling working families with health insurance in the name of fiscal 
discipline. Once again, the values of the administration are glaringly 
out of step with the values of the American people.
  The administration will not stand for accountability, transparency, 
or dissent when it comes to ending the occupation of Iraq. They will, 
however, support another blank check, resulting in more lives lost and 
more of our priorities left unfunded.
  Earlier today, the House voted on overriding the President's veto of 
the children's health insurance reauthorization, or SCHIP. When the 
President vetoed SCHIP, he argued that the appearance of fiscal 
responsibility was more important than the health of 10 million of our 
children in this Nation. But when we learned that insuring 10 million 
children in America for 1 year costs the same as 40 days in Iraq, it is 
clear that the administration does not have its priorities straight.
  Mr. Speaker, supporting our service men and women is certainly our 
absolute responsibility. Our Nation has an obligation to those who 
sacrifice and defend us during times of war. However, our 
servicemembers in Iraq were sent into combat without adequate training, 
without state-of-the-art body armor and equipment, and without 
assurances that their tours of duty will not be overextended. The 
glaring failures in Iraq show that not only is the Bush administration 
defunding our Nation's priorities to continue the occupation, but that 
it is allowing much of that money to be wasted.
  The Inspector General has reported that $8.8 billion appropriated for 
Iraq's reconstruction cannot be accounted for. Media sources have 
recently reported that the administration is constructing a $600 
million American Embassy located in the Green Zone in Iraq. This 
embassy, which is the largest in the world, in fact, it is larger than 
the Vatican, this embassy will include grocery stores, a movie theater, 
tennis courts and a social club.
  It will require $1 billion a year to keep it up and to be maintained. 
Instead of our children's health care, the priorities of the Bush 
administration seem to be waste, fraud and abuse.
  Mr. Speaker, when the administration vetoes a bipartisan investment 
in health insurance for our Nation's children, it rejects the 
priorities of the American people. When the administration spends 
billions on constructing and maintaining an embassy in Iraq while 
Iraq's infrastructure collapses around them, it compromises the safety 
of our troops abroad. And when the administration refuses to end the 
occupation in Iraq, it assures that countless generations will suffer 
for their mistakes.
  Mr. Speaker, the priorities of the American people are clear. They 
want to provide health care for children. They want to promote peace 
and protect our troops. They want us to fully fund the efforts to bring 
our troops home. They want us to do it now.

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