[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 7994]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, efforts by Americans and our allies in Iraq 
have greatly weakened al Qaeda. If we withdraw our troops from Iraq 
before their mission is complete, we would forfeit all the progress we 
have made so far.
  Since the surge began last year, we have made remarkable progress, 
both on the military front and on the political front. While we all 
agree that more needs to be done politically, there is no questioning 
the tremendous efforts our military have done to bring stability to 
areas once controlled by radical extremists.
  There should be absolutely no question of whether we provide them the 
funding they need to do the job we've asked them to do. House 
Republicans stand united with our troops and our veterans who have 
fought bravely on the front lines. The least we can do is front the 
resources necessary for them to complete the task we sent our military 
to do.
  We cannot delay, and we should provide this supplemental funding 
without extra new spending and extra new programs before we leave for 
Memorial Day.

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