[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 5995-5996]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          AMERICANS ASK: WHY IS BUSH SPENDING BILLIONS IN IRAQ

  (Mr. SIRES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. SIRES. Madam Speaker, on Tax Day, Americans have a right to ask 
why the Bush administration continues to spend taxpayer dollars on an 
Iraq war that has no end in sight and no plans for success.
  Today, President Bush will spend more than $338 million in Iraq. What 
exactly does that mean for the taxpayer sending in his or her form 
today? The typical taxpayer covers the cost of the war in Iraq for only 
one-half a second.
  And while we continue to ship billions of dollars to Iraq while our 
economy is going south and our budget deficit continues to hit record 
highs every year, the Iraqi government currently has a surplus and is 
expecting to receive $40 billion this year in oil revenues. Can someone 
please make sense of this policy?
  Madam Speaker, the American taxpayer has every right to demand more 
accountability from Washington. Congressional Democrats continue to 
propose a change in policy, one that shifts more responsibility to the 
Iraqis themselves. They can certainly afford it. Unfortunately, 
President Bush and his

[[Page 5996]]

supporters in Congress ignore the American people and congressional 
Democrats who do not want to see taxpayer dollars wasted in Iraq any 
longer.

                          ____________________