Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2004 - Continued
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004CONTINUED
AMENDMENT NO. 1315
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I believe the amendment is already part of the managers' package, so it does not have to be read.
In the interest of time, Mr. President, of the 10 minutes allotted to me, I will yield back 4, take 3 for myself, and yield 3 to the senior Senator from Washington.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Murray be added as a cosponsor of the amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, this amendment is very simple. We have all heard the reports, which bother us, tear at our hearts, that our soldiers are going to have to stay a longer period of time because of the fighting, the chaos, the problems in Iraq.
One of the quickest ways to get them home is that we set up an indigenous police force. After all, our Army, the greatest Army in the world, that has done such a great job in Iraq, has not really been trained to be a police force to stop looting and to create civil order, et cetera.
We are in the process of training Iraqis to take over this job, and I am sure most Americans wish it could be done as quickly as possible. This amendment is a reminder of that and an importuning of the administration to do just that, by requiring that every 180 days there be a report from the administration to Congress and the American people that talks about the progress of setting up such a police force, the cost of such a police force, and how it might affect the timetable and speed
up the timetable, more particularly, of our soldiers coming home.
We know we have to restore rule of law in Iraq. We know it should best be done by an indigenous Iraqi police force. This amendment simply says, let's get that done quickly, and let the administration report to us on how that progress is going. It is important to the soldiers. It is important to law and order in Iraq, and it is important to the American people.
Nothing would make us all happier than to bring so many of our brave soldiers home, and home quickly. This amendment is
both a reminder and an importuning addressed to that fact.
With that, I yield back the rest of my 3 minutes, and yield the remaining time to the Senator from Washington, the cosponsor of this amendment.