[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 7063]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          NO MORE BLANK CHECKS

  (Mr. MAHONEY of Florida asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MAHONEY of Florida. Madam Speaker, when I ran for Congress, I 
promised to stand up for our veterans and our men and women in uniform. 
I promised I would do everything in my power to fight and win the war 
on terror.
  Poor political leadership and gross mismanagement has put America in 
the middle of an increasingly violent religious civil war.
  Our troops completed their mission. They removed a brutal dictator, 
and through $400 billion of our hard-earned money and our brave men and 
women's blood, sweat and tears, we gave the Iraqi people the hope for a 
better life through democracy.
  This week I am going to vote to give the President the money he 
requested. But for the first time, we have the opportunity to hold him 
accountable to the American people for the promises that he made to us.
  This bill gives the President the mandate to keep troops in Iraq for 
as long as it takes to destroy the terrorists. It sets requirements for 
troop readiness, provides money to rebuild our military, and gets our 
troops and our veterans the resources and the help they need.
  Mr. President, no more blank checks. Congress and the American people 
for the first time in over 4 years are holding you to your word.

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