U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, And Iraq Accountability Act, 2007--Conference Report

Floor Speech

U.S. TROOP READINESS, VETERANS' HEALTH, AND IRAQ ACCOUNTABILITY ACT, 2007--CONFERENCE REPORT -- (Senate - April 26, 2007)

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Mr. SCHUMER. Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. President, we can do both: fund the troops and change our mission in Iraq. That is what this supplemental does, and we urge you, Mr. President, to look into your heart, reconsider, and sign it.

The American people, bipartisan majorities in both Houses of Congress, military experts, and the Iraq Study Group all agree the only way to succeed is to change our mission. Only President Bush and his small band of advisers think we should stay the course.

What is more, the President wrongly thinks the only way to support our troops is for everyone to rubberstamp his policies. That is not what the American people want. The American people want a change in mission. They want a new direction, not more of the same failed policies.

I have talked to generals and to NCOs. They do not want us to rubberstamp the President's policies. They want a debate because everyone knows the present direction is failing. Everyone knows we need a change of mission--except the President and his small group of advisers who are clustered down there at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and refuse to listen--stubbornly refuse to listen--to the experts, to the American people, and to so many others.

First, let me tell you what this supplemental does. The first thing it does is fund our troops. It fully supports our troops. It allocates more dollars for them than the President has asked for.

Second, it provides reasonable and meaningful guidelines to protect our troops by ensuring that all units that are sent overseas to fight are ready, trained, and equipped to fight. It will require the Department of Defense to adhere to its own guidelines to ensure that every unit that is deployed is ``fully mission capable.''

Why would President Bush want to send our troops to Afghanistan and Iraq, into fierce battles, without the training and equipment needed to get the job done and come home safely? But when he says he will veto this bill, he will veto that provision.

Third, this legislation shows both the United States and Iraq how to change the failing strategy.

What has happened is simple. Our mission in Iraq has devolved so that most of what we do is patrol, police, and stand in the middle of a civil war. The Sunnis and the Shiites have hated each other for centuries. Their enmity goes way back. They will continue to not like each other, not work with each other, fight with each other long after we are gone--whether it is 3 months or 3 years. Yet most of the time our troops--our brave men and women--are simply caught in the middle of a civil war. We have not chosen a side; we are just in the middle.

The original purpose in Iraq was to fight terrorism. Our supplemental says, let's go back to that original purpose: counterterrorism, as well as force protection, and training the Iraqis. But to continue to spend most of our time, effort, and lives--lives--patrolling a civil war makes no sense.

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, in conclusion, again, there is a simple answer to our problems in Iraq, which is mission change. We can both support the troops and change the mission. That is what the American people want. That is what the experts tell us. I believe that is what most of our soldiers want. I urge support of this supplemental and again urge the President to reconsider and sign it.

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