Water Resources Development Act Of 2007

Floor Speech

WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2007 -- (Senate - May 16, 2007)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I shall be very brief, not only because the distinguished senior Senator from Virginia has done a superb job of describing the initiative we have brought before the Senate but also because I have a commitment to testify very shortly before another committee on yet another important issue. But I do wish to comment briefly on one of the provisions that is included in Senator Warner's proposal, a provision I consulted with many of our colleagues on and brought forth to the senior Senator from Virginia and suggested be included. He agreed and has placed it within his amendment.

This provision conditions the release of reconstruction funds to progress on the benchmarks that are included in the Warner-Collins amendment. These benchmarks include making progress on debaathification, making progress in passing and implementing an oil revenues distribution bill, making progress and producing trained and equipped Iraqi security forces, and overall for the Iraqi Government to make more progress toward the political reconciliation that is absolutely essential to quelling the sectarian violence that now engulfs Baghdad. It includes, therefore, provisions and benchmarks not only on debaathification but also on holding provincial elections, something that would help lead to the integration of more Sunnis into the Government power structures.

It is important that there be consequences for the Iraqi Government if those benchmarks are not met, and the best way is to condition the release of billions of dollars of reconstruction assistance--assistance for which the American taxpayers are footing the bill--on whether the Iraqi leaders are making progress in meeting the benchmarks. If they are not making progress in meeting the benchmarks, then I think we should not release the reconstruction funds. This would have definite consequences, and I believe it is appropriate that we link it to reconstruction funds.

None of us wants to--or very few of us want to cut off the essential training and equipping funds for Iraqi troops, much less American troops. So I do not support an alternative amendment which will be offered today which would simply cut off funds. I don't think that is responsible. That is a disservice to the brave men and women who are fighting so hard in Iraq. I want to make sure our troops have everything they need--the training, the equipment, and the support to carry out their dangerous mission.

I also want to make sure the Iraqi troops have the training and the equipment they need, but I share the frustration of the former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee that we have been training Iraqi troops and equipping them for years, some 300,000 troops, and yet we still find that the Iraqi security forces are not able to take the lead in very many operations, and that is very disturbing to me. It is one of the reasons I strongly support Senator Warner's proposal for an outside review by a distinguished nonpartisan group led by retired GEN Jim Jones to assess the capabilities and the readiness of the Iraqi forces. That is a very important provision as well.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. COLLINS. I thank the Chair.

Mr. President, my support for our operations in Iraq is neither open-ended nor unconditional. I believe the Warner-Collins amendment takes important steps toward accountability, and I hope it will have the support of the majority of Members in this body.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source