[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4684]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  APRIL FOOL'S DAY AT THE WHITE HOUSE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, today is April the 1st, a day that also 
goes by the nickname April Fool's Day. For most of us, this is a day of 
trickery that only comes once a year. For the White House, it is a day 
that comes all too often. The mistruths, the lies, the deceptions, 
whatever you want to call them, keep flowing out of the White House and 
from its cronies.
  Just the other day, our very own ambassador to Iraq said, and I quote 
him, ``I think there has to be an honest discussion of the consequences 
of Iraq.'' An honest discussion. Now? Why didn't the administration do 
that 5 years ago, I ask you? Just now we need to put on our thinking 
caps and get serious about Iraq? We are in the sixth year of this 
occupation, and Ambassador Crocker thinks now is the time to 
contemplate what is going to happen in Iraq? This is far beyond a day 
late and a dollar short. They are 5 years late and one-half trillion 
dollars short.
  But this never ending April Fool's Day goes on and on. How about 
these oldies but goodies:
  In July 2002, then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had a one-
word answer for reporters who asked whether Iraq had relationships with 
al Qaeda terrorists. His answer was, ``Sure.''
  Vice President Dick Cheney in August 2002 simply stated, ``There is 
no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There 
is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our 
allies, and against us.''
  On January 28, 2003, in his annual State of the Union, the President 
asserted that the British government has learned that Saddam Hussein 
recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. He 
continued, ``Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to 
purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons 
production.''
  The administration, which has racked up one-half trillion dollars in 
debt, even made the claim that Iraqi oil would pay for the war and that 
we would be met with cheers and flowers.
  Remember that old proverb: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, 
shame on me. But, you know what? The American people were not fooled by 
these statements, and this Congress mustn't be fooled, either. That is 
why 92 Members of this House have sent a clear message to the 
President. We signed a letter stating that we will not support any more 
blank checks. In fact, we said we will only support appropriating 
additional funds for U.S. military operations in Iraq during fiscal 
year 2008 and beyond for the protection and safe redeployment of our 
troops out of Iraq before President Bush leaves office.
  There is absolutely nothing funny about these tricks that the 
administration has played on this Nation. April Fool's Day ends today. 
We must not take any more nonsense from the White House, and we must 
not sign one more blank check.

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