[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11285-11286]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   HELPING THE IRAQIS HELP THEMSELVES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, ours is a very generous Nation. As we have 
seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Southeast Asian 
tsunami, the depth and breadth of American giving is unsurpassed. Our 
dedication goes far beyond natural disasters, however.
  In each of our communities we have seen families reaching out by 
sending care packages to our troops, or donating school supplies for 
Iraqi children, or giving to refugee relief organizations. With the 
support of the Congress, the U.S. government is beginning to follow the 
path of the American people. Instead of a foreign policy balanced on 
the tip of a gun, some U.S. programs are reaching out to the people on 
the ground.

                              {time}  2100

  These are the types of programs which should be receiving robust 
support, not a misguided military agenda without an end game.
  The United States Agency for International Development, known as 
USAID, has several excellent projects that are getting relief into the 
hands of Iraqi families. We should be helping to rebuild communities 
because, as the old saying goes, ``You break it, you buy it.'' To be 
sure, our obligation goes well beyond military and security 
intervention.
  One program deserving note is a USAID grant to get the Balad canning 
factory up and running again. The factory, one of Iraq's largest food 
processors, was built in 1974. It was built as a government-owned 
tomato paste factory. After privatization, the factory was producing 10 
more products and employing 1,000 people, including 200 women.
  According to USAID, with the instability that was brought on by the 
invasion of Iraq and the ensuing civil war, the factory's potential for 
food processing was shattered. Farmers were unable to work the fields, 
and the factory

[[Page 11286]]

no longer had access to the agricultural supply required to operate. 
Not only were factory workers suddenly unemployed, tens of thousands of 
farmers found themselves similarly destitute.
  A U.S. Government grant for $5 million will ensure that power, water, 
waste treatment and steam are restored to the plant. This is essential 
to get the factory back on-line.
  When we look at what we are spending on the military occupation of 
Iraq, somewhere around $9 billion a week, $5 million looks like a drop 
in the bucket. In fact, $5 million for development assistance actually 
equals 21 minutes of military spending. As some of my colleagues like 
to say, this is a hand up, not a hand-out.
  We are rebuilding the heart of communities through jobs, through 
growth and investment into the infrastructure, the results of which 
will be seen for generations to come.
  We need to take a serious look, Mr. Speaker, at our presence in Iraq. 
Is it any wonder that there is frustration? We can spend billions of 
dollars perpetuating an occupation, but we can't truly commit to 
humanitarian assistance, to reconciliation and a diplomatic surge?
  It's simple, if we listen to the American people and to the Iraqi 
families. Let's end this occupation of Iraq and bring our troops and 
military contractors home. It is time to rebuild, not re-ignite a 
military conflict.

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