[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 7275]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         LET'S GIVE OUR TROOPS A CLEAN EMERGENCY SPENDING BILL

  (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I support the war in Iraq and the President's 
call for reinforcements. I made every effort to support our troops in 
the field, but I cannot support the Iraq supplemental because it is 
fiscally irresponsible and constitutionally flawed.
  Emergency war spending bills should be about emergency war spending. 
In addition to much-needed support for our troops, this legislation 
contains billions of dollars in domestic spending that have nothing 
whatsoever to do with our national defense. And this bill is 
constitutionally flawed.
  Under the Constitution, it is very clear; Congress may declare war; 
Congress may choose to fund or choose not to fund war; but Congress may 
not conduct war.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation is fiscally irresponsible and 
constitutionally flawed. The American people expect this Congress to 
send our soldiers the resources they need to win in Afghanistan and 
Iraq with no strings and no pork. I urge my colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle, consider carefully what you will do today. The 
American people want our troops to come home, but they want them to win 
and come home. Let's give them a clean emergency spending bill, and 
give them a chance to do just that.

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