[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5027]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           PENCE EXCHANGE WITH AMBASSADOR RICHARD C. HOLBROOK

  (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. PENCE. As many Democrats make plans to cut or restrict funding to 
our troops in Iraq, yesterday before the Foreign Affairs Committee a 
dissenting voice came from a surprising place. Richard Holbrook was the 
former Assistant Secretary of State for the Clinton administration and 
has worked in diplomatic roles for every Democratic President since 
Lyndon Johnson.
  Yesterday, Ambassador Holbrook appeared before our committee and I 
asked him directly, Do you oppose efforts to eliminate or reduce 
funding to our troops on the ground in Iraq? Ambassador Holbrook 
responded: ``I do, I oppose it.'' When I asked him to elaborate, he 
went on to say: ``I think that if the Commander in Chief has deployed 
the troops, the ultimate weapon of denying them the resources to carry 
out their mission only puts them in harm's way, greater harm's way. I 
would remind you that we cannot cut the troop funding.''
  I commend Ambassador Holbrook for his storied career in American 
foreign affairs and his willingness to speak truth to power, even the 
power of many in his own political party.
  As Ambassador Holbrook said yesterday before the Foreign Affairs 
Committee: ``We cannot cut off funding for our troops.''

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