[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9376]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 A REALITY CHECK ON THE IRAQ SUPPLEMENTAL AND WHEN THE FUNDS ARE NEEDED

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, we keep on hearing all of these doomsday 
scenarios from the White House and our Republican colleagues about the 
emergency supplemental bill. It would be nice if they would listen to 
the President's own Defense Secretary, who said this week that our 
timelines are already creating positive results in Iraq. Yet the 
President threatens to veto the bill and says that the money is needed 
immediately.
  I think it's time for a reality check. Fact: the nonpartisan 
Congressional Research Service concluded last month that the Pentagon 
could maintain its wartime operations well into July with funds they 
have already been provided.
  Another fact: As of today, it's only been 73 days since the President 
sent his funding request to the Capitol. Last year, the Republican-
controlled Congress took 119 days to send the Iraq war supplemental to 
the President, and yet the President never attacked the Republican-
controlled Congress for supposedly holding up funding for our troops.
  President Bush should stop playing politics with this emergency 
funding bill so that we can finally move the war in Iraq in a new 
direction.

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