[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11206]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         THE IRAQ SUPPLEMENTAL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I don't have a vote in the full House, 
but if I did, I would have voted for the supplemental and for the 
override of the President's veto. So I am proud that a bipartisan 
majority voted on my behalf and on behalf of the American public, who 
do not support the war in Iraq, do not support the surge, and want to 
see a clear effort to extricate this country from an internal civil war 
and to bring our troops home.
  It is clear to me that, despite the glossed over reports, the surge 
has done nothing but to cause one of the highest casualty rates in the 
month that just ended. Although there is no good option, the problems 
will continue for some time whether we go or leave. It is clear that 
the Iraqis want us out. It is clear that we lose or disable our own 
soldiers every day, and that innocent Iraqis are also injured every day 
that we stay. So the only moral choice is the one embodied in the 
supplemental and the two votes that have been taken.
  I reject the way this supplemental has been characterized. If you 
listen to the news media, you would think that the nonIraq war items in 
the supplemental were nothing but pork, used to induce Members to vote 
on this bill. Nothing could be further from the truth.
  In addition to giving the President what he asked for, we have made 
sure that a number of emergency domestic issues are also addressed. 
That is what supplementals are for. But let's start with the war, 
because in addition to fully funding the needs of troops, this bill 
contains $450 million for a very important and very much needed post-
traumatic stress disorder counseling for our men and women when they 
come home to help them transition and to help them resume normal lives 
after being immersed in the caldron of war. We owe it to our soldiers 
and their families, having borne the bankrupt of this war, to have the 
help they need when they return.
  Traumatic brain injury has been called the signature wound of this 
war, especially if so many of our soldiers suffer from it after 
exposure to bomb blast and IEDs. This supplemental includes $450 
million for research into the best treatment and care for those who 
have to be hospitalized and rehabilitated because of these injuries.
  We were all horrified when the problems at the Walter Reed Medical 
Center and other veterans facilities across the country were exposed; 
$20 million is included in the supplemental to address this time-
honored facility that is the forefront of care for our war-wounded 
veterans. There is another $100 million to ensure that our military, 
National Guard and Reserve members get timely health care, including 
mental health care. Once again, we owe it to them to respond with the 
best possible care that we can give.
  This bill also addresses the shamefully long lingering needs from one 
of the biggest and most tragic domestic crises of our time, when 
Hurricane Katrina devastated the gulf in 2005, much was promised to 
those who were left homeless and uprooted in its wake. But, 
unfortunately, until this bill, not enough has been done. Included in 
the supplemental is $1.3 billion for levee protection and coastal 
system restoration to make them structurally and environmentally safer 
so that New Orleaneans and other gulf residents can resume their lives.
  After Katrina schools were devastated. Teachers left. In order for 
people to move back home, they need to be assured that there will be 
renewed and revitalized schools for their children's education. The 
supplemental provides $30 million for K-12 education to bring those 
schools back and for recruitment to bring back teachers and other 
educational professionals back to the city. Some of our universities, 
like Southern and Dillard, were also damaged by the storm of the 
century. There is $30 million requested in that supplemental to assist 
them.
  The health, housing, small business and community development needs 
of the gulf are also finally heard and responded to this in measure, 
with a provision for community disaster loan forgiveness to assist 
local governments in meeting the needs of their displaced and 
devastated people.
  There is also $4.3 billion of FEMA disaster recovery grants and a 
social services block grant extension; $25 million for small business 
disaster loans, and $80 billion for HUD tenant-based rental assistance.
  In the area of health care, two great needs are addressed in this 
bill with $1 billion to purchase vaccines, emergency vaccines, that 
would be needed to protect this country in the case of a global flu 
pandemic; and another $750 million to make sure that the children's 
health insurance programs, which cover millions of children in 14 
States and some of the territories, will continue uninterrupted.
  These are just some of the important areas funded in this bill, and 
it's why it must go forward. If we don't do it in this supplemental, a 
measure that is reserved for critical issues like these, it will be 
difficult, if not impossible, to get them done at all.
  The American people are looking at us and wondering if their 
priorities are our priorities. This legislation demonstrates that we 
not only know what the priorities are, but that we are ready to stand 
with them and act on the issues they have told us are important to 
them.

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