Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2006--Continued

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006--Continued

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Mr. DURBIN. I thank the Chair.

Mr. President, I just returned from a week back in my State of Illinois traveling from Chicago through downstate southern Illinois meeting with many people at Fourth of July parades, the usual standard procedure in scheduling for many Members of the Senate and Congress. Many people came to say hello, but there were a couple who stand out in my memory of that week. One was a man in southern Illinois who pulled me aside and in very quiet tones said, ``Bring our troops home.'' And another, a man standing at O'Hare Airport, as I walked by, recognized me and said, ``Support our troops.''

I think in those two brief sentences we really have a lot of the public sentiment of America. Support our troops. That is clear. These are our sons and daughters. If you have been there, as I was this last March, and seen them, in Iraq, in Baghdad, risk their lives, see those fresh-faced young people who are standing there so proudly on behalf of our country, you can't help but support these men and women. You must. And we have. We should continue to do so.

But there is a growing sentiment as well that they should come home. Some say bring them home right now. I am not one of those people. I do not believe we can just end our commitment today and leave Iraq. I am afraid what would be left behind would be chaos, a training ground for terrorism that would threaten not only the Middle East but the entire world. But yet I do believe all of us feel, even the President, that we should be looking to the day when our troops do come home and how we will reach that day because every single day we wait in anticipation of those troops coming home we are losing soldiers.

This morning's Washington Post, as it does every day, published the number of American soldiers killed in Iraq to this moment: 1,755--1,755--and more than 13,000 grievously wounded. Many of them I have met and seen. Some of the Illinois families, I have been to their funerals, met their families, dropped notes to and spoken to them. It breaks your heart to think that they have lost someone they love so much.

How do we reach this point where we can bring these troops home and feel that we have achieved what we set out to do? Well, we came up with a way to try to measure this and set us on a course for it to happen. When Congress passed the supplemental appropriations bill, we authorized $35 billion directly associated with U.S. operations in Iraq and $5.7 billion on top of that to train and equip Iraqi security forces. That is the way we bring American soldiers home, by training and equipping Iraqis to take their place.

That same bill required the Secretary of Defense to provide a detailed report on how the training was progressing and what U.S. troop levels would likely be by the end of the year. The report that was mandated by that supplemental appropriations bill was due in 60 days after it was enacted. The due date was July 11. Today is July 13, and we still have not received the report required by law. Some media reports the Pentagon is still working on it. Others say the report is on Secretary Rumsfeld's desk. When we call the Pentagon, the answers are conflicting.

Congress has approved over $200 billion for the war in Iraq. Although I have had serious misgivings about the initial invasion of Iraq as to whether we had a plan for success, not just for deposing Saddam Hussein but for building a peace, while I was concerned that we did not have allies to stand with our troops soldier by soldier--only the British came forward with any substantial numbers--and while I was concerned about the American burden of this war not only in human life but in treasure, I have decided, and I think most of my colleagues agree, we will not shortchange our troops in the field.

The last time we had a supplemental appropriations bill, $82 billion for our troops passed unanimously in the Senate. Many of us who had voted against the war voted for that money. If it were my son or daughter, I would want them to receive every single penny they needed to perform their mission, to perform as they have, and come home safely.

Despite having voted for this money, I stand here today with my colleagues in the Senate uncertain as to our progress because this report from the Pentagon which we had asked for, one which attempts to measure how we are progressing, how the Iraqis are progressing, has still not been delivered, and it is a concern to me because I think this report really goes to the heart of what we are trying to achieve. We are trying to finally learn where we stand in Iraq, how soon our troops are likely to come home. There have been a lot of claims--150,000 Iraqi soldiers ready to come into battle--and yet when it comes to the real battles it is American soldiers--American soldiers--risking their lives. That is why we have asked for the Pentagon to tell us what progress is being made.

The conference report to the supplemental stated that a new assessment is necessary because the Pentagon's existing performance indicators and measures of stability and security in Iraq are not adequate. We have heard about these claims, how many Iraqi soldiers and policemen are ready. Police have been recruited by the tens of thousands, according to reports from the Pentagon, but many are just missing in action.

The report that we require under law asks for a detailed assessment of Iraqi military, political and economic progress. Iraqi battalions must be able to operate on their own against the insurgency, and Iraqi forces must be able to secure their own borders.

The draft of the new constitution in Iraq is due next month. The Iraqis have made some progress toward creating a new political system of government, and they had an absolutely historical election with turnout evidencing a thirst for new leadership in their country, but Iraqi unemployment may be as high as 50 percent, and some of the most fundamental things of civilized life are not there, whether it is electricity, sewage treatment, water, security in your home.

The report we asked for demands an assessment on how far we progressed toward our goals. The fact that this report has not been filed is a source of real concern. Progress in Iraq is critical to bringing America's soldiers home with a victory. This report asks our Pentagon what U.S. force levels will be needed by the end of next year. We say that if there is any part of it that needs to be classified, do so. Don't disclose anything that could jeopardize the security and safety of our troops.

An amendment has been offered by Senator Reid of Nevada and Senator Kennedy and myself, an amendment to the Homeland Security bill before us, asking that this report be provided to Congress on a timely basis. It is long overdue. This is an administration which has measured many things in terms of performance and quality. So many different agencies of our Government were held to the standard of what are you producing for the money that is being provided. What we are asking is the same type of accountability and the same type of metric when it comes to our progress in Iraq.

I would agree with many who say setting a timetable for withdrawal may be counterproductive, but it is not unreasonable to hold the Iraqis to a timetable, a timetable to develop their government and their security force and their defense so that American soldiers can come home. I think that is reasonable. It was passed overwhelmingly on a bipartisan basis by Members of Congress.

The fact that there has been such a delay in providing this information is troubling, but I am hoping that even as I speak here today, the Secretary of Defense is preparing this report and sending it so we can learn as quickly as possible how soon our soldiers can come home to their families and those of us who love them.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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The Senator from Illinois [Mr. DURBIN] proposes an amendment numbered 1166.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To designate a port of entry)

On page 70, line 20, strike ``purposes.'' and insert the following: ``purposes: Provided further, That MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, shall be designated as a port of entry.''.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, this is a very brief and simple amendment. It designates MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, IL, as a port of entry.

MidAmerica Airport is the civilian side of Scott Air Force Base, one of the region's largest employers. MidAmerica and Scott Air Force Base have a successful joint-use plan.

MidAmerica is classified as a foreign trade zone and is a finalist to be classified as an interior transshipment point for international air cargo. The MidAmerica Airport does not currently have international traffic, although a passenger terminal was built to host pre-9/11 Customs activities. International air cargo transport is nonexistent in the region, and it would give MidAmerica a means to enhance the region's economy. This would be beneficial to homeland security and would enhance economic development in the metro East St. Louis region.

Mr. President, I ask that this amendment be set aside.

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