[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 10813-10814]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       IRAQ TIMETABLE AND FUNDING

  (Ms. SOLIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SOLIS. Madam Speaker, I would just like to say that there has 
been a lot of talk about Democrats cutting and running and not helping 
our troops. Well, I would like to clarify the record on my own behalf.
  Just a month ago, I had an opportunity, with four other Members of 
Congress, to visit Iraq, to visit our soldiers. I met with many, many 
platoons and individuals representing my State of California. We are 
there working hard. We need to support those troops.
  Indeed, many of them said that they have been on their second and 
third tours. They were exhausted. They wanted to come home and see 
their families. One young man told me he hadn't even seen his child, 
who had been born 18 months already. Several of them told me that they 
did not have adequate equipment. And I said please explain that. 
``Well, ma'am, we don't have light bulbs.'' ``What do you need light 
bulbs for?'' ``We need light bulbs for our vehicles. When we go into 
town and we are checking for explosive devices, we have vehicles that 
are not adequately equipped.''

[[Page 10814]]

  In addition, with the escalation going on right now, they are having 
to share their equipment with the troops that are coming in. That is 
shameful. That is what this administration has done to our troops.
  Democrats are asking for a signature on the supplemental because we 
care about those troops and we care about the benefits that they 
deserve.

                          ____________________