[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 7460-7461]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      MEETING OUR MORAL OBLIGATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, just a few days ago we commemorated the 
fourth anniversary of the United States' invasion of Iraq. Today we 
pause, and we voted for the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and 
Iraq Accountability Act, and we took a pivotal step in responding to 
the mandate issued by the American people.
  I have opposed this war from the very beginning; however, I voted for 
this legislation because I am realistic about our circumstances. As 
long as our brave men and women are serving in this country, we have a 
moral obligation to ensure that they are trained, equipped and rested 
when they go into battle. Supporting this measure was not easy, 
especially in light of the fact that a young man from Baltimore, 
Kendall Waters-Bey, who lived only a few blocks from me, was the first 
to die in the Iraq war.
  However, after many discussions with my constituents and much 
contemplation, I strongly believe that H.R. 1591 was in the best 
interest of our brave men and women, the people of Iraq, and the people 
of these great United States.
  Although I am opposed to the war, I have a responsibility to vote my 
conscience and a responsibility to help protect the servicemembers 
while they are risking their lives in Iraq. However, it is more 
important that we take care of those wounded warriors when they return 
home. When they have risked so much, we much respect them enough to 
provide the quality of medical treatment that they deserve.
  Of the $124 billion to be spent, $900 million will be dedicated to 
two areas that I feel are of utmost importance, injuries which some 
military doctors say have become the signature wounds of the Iraq war: 
traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. This is in 
addition to the $20 million dedicated to addressing the problems that 
we saw at Walter Reed.
  While H.R. 1591 provides $2.8 billion for military health care, this 
is not nearly enough for the thousands who have already returned or for 
those who are expected to need that care in the future. However, it is 
my hope and my intention to revisit this issue at a later date.
  This legislation is monumental because it marks the first time during 
our efforts in Iraq that Congress will hold the President accountable. 
No more blank checks. We have established benchmarks for the war in 
Iraq that the President himself has repeatedly stated must be reached 
to resolve

[[Page 7461]]

this crisis. If these benchmarks are not met, this legislation requires 
the troops to be fully redeployed by August 2008.
  I know that there are many reasons that others oppose the 
legislation; however, the reality of the situation is very simple. Our 
troops will be in Iraq. In fact, more troops are being mobilized as we 
speak. We can no longer remain silent. We do not have the right to 
remain silent. Failing to pass this legislation was no option, because 
if we had failed to pass the legislation, we would have been in a 
situation where we would have sent to the President the possibility of 
a stripped-down supplemental. So we have a moral obligation to provide 
the equipment and the adequate health care that our troops need. We 
have done that with the passage of H.R. 1591.
  I congratulate the Democratic leadership, our Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 
certainly to Steny Hoyer, and to our whip Jim Clyburn and all of the 
leadership members.

                          ____________________