Press Conference with Sens. Harry Reid (D-NV); Charles Schumer (D-NY); Steny Hoyer (D-MD); Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) on Hidden Costs of Iraq War
Interview
Press Conference with Sens. Harry Reid (D-NV); Charles Schumer (D-NY); Steny Hoyer (D-MD); Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) on Hidden Costs of Iraq War
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REP. HOYER: I am very pleased to join the majority leader of the United States Senate, on behalf of Speaker Pelosi and myself, in congratulating Chairman Schumer and Co-Chair Maloney on the issuance of this report, "War at Any Price." It is a document which will clearly inform the American public of the costs that have been incurred as a result of the flawed policies being pursued by this administration.
I want to thank the committee, especially Chairman Schumer and Vice Chair Maloney, for compiling this very important report. The war in Iraq has taken a tremendous toll on this nation in blood and treasure, costs that are hard to even fathom. President Bush said this war would cost 50 (billion) to $60 billion. That was his projection. That is what he laid on the Congress's table. That is what he laid before the American people. Larry Lindsey, then the top White House economic adviser, disagreed, and it was his opinion that it could cost as much as $200 billion. And for the candor that he showed, Lindsey was shown the door.
Today's report shows that the true cost of this war will be many times greater than even Lindsey could have predicted, in fact, 10 times more than he predicted. Let's be clear: We will and we must pay for whatever cost to protect the American people. But tragically, unfortunately, incredibly the war is not making us safer.
As this report documents, the ramifications of this policy, which former Commander in Iraq General Sanchez called catastrophically flawed, are far-reaching and long-lasting. The Joint Economic Committee's work exposes the president's misplaced priorities. As Senator Reid has pointed out, the president recently demanded a $200 billion blank check for his failed policy in Iraq, as well as the war in Afghanistan. Yet he refuses -- he refuses -- to work with bipartisan majorities in Congress to increase investments in priorities here at home, as Senator Reid pointed out, such as our nation's health care systems, schools, community safety and children's health.
About one-tenth of the cost that he has vetoed in the Labor, Health issue, he has asked for Baghdad and Kabul. In other words, he's saying there's too much being spent on American students, on American children for their health care, on communities for their investment in infrastructure. But we'll send 200 extra billion dollars this year to Baghdad and Kabul.
Furthermore, this report exposes the president's new found rhetoric about fiscal responsibility for precisely what it is: political posturing pure and simple.
The president has run this war on borrowed money leaving it to future generations -- my children, my grandchildren and my great grandchild -- to pay for this war. Generations to come are being put deeply into debt. President Bush has requested a total of $607 billion for Iraq alone for a total real cost of 813 -- or excuse me -- $1.3 trillion. This report reinforces our belief that a responsible redeployment of American forces in Iraq is the best path forward for our country and, I would suggest, for Iraq as well.
Democrats will continue to push the president to change course in Iraq as we have been doing from the very first day this session started, and it's long past time for congressional Republicans to put down their rubber stamps, to assess our failing policy in a clear-eyed manner and to join us in demanding a new direction in Iraq. The administration's extraordinary era and the cost of this war and the success of this effort need to be changed, and we are fighting to do just that.
Now, I'm pleased to yield to the chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York.
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SEN. REID: We'll be happy to take questions.
Q Leader Reid, the -- (off mike) -- timetable. Will the Senate follow through with that?
SEN. REID: Yes.
Q And will you do it before the recess?
SEN. REID: We're going to do our very best to do it before the recess. We expect to get the legislation on Wednesday. And with all of our rules, sometimes we can't move things very quickly, but it's our goal to access our timeline, (fix/fixed ?) timeline, is to finish it before we leave for Thanksgiving.
I've -- we had a leadership meeting this morning. I'd explained in detail what our alternatives are. I've spoken to Leader Hoyer in my office earlier today.
I've spoken to the speaker on many occasions. The last time was Friday night.
The answer is yes, we hope the House will get that to us as quickly as possible, and we're going to take it up as soon as we can.
Q Senator, do you have expectations that you'll be able to get 60 votes?
SEN. REID: I always have expectations to get 60 votes. (Laughter.) We've never been able to do it, and I would think after what we've been able to show, that this war is -- and so devastating to the American people. We talk here today on a number of cases about the death of American soldiers. We're quickly approaching 4,000. But we tend not to talk about the people's lives who have been so damaged as a result of being wounded. That number is now unknown, but it's approach 35,000, a third of them critically wounded, losing their eyesight, paralysis. The number of double amputees now is approaching 3,000.
So I would hope that the Republicans have gotten the message the American people have had enough of this war, and we've got to bring our troops home. Bringing our troops home will be good for our military, but it'll also be good for the American taxpayer. We cannot afford this war -- $12 billion a month? We just can't continue.
REP. HOYER: Can I say something on that? You asked the question about the Senate, obviously. Let me say from the House perspective we would very sincerely hope that Senator McConnell and the Republicans in the United States Senate would allow the will of the American people to be reflected on the floor of the United States Senate. We believe that the overwhelming majority of Americans believe we need to change policy.
We believe the majority of the United States Senate believes we ought to change policy. And we would hope that Senator McConnell would let that view be reflected in a democratic way on the floor of the United States Senate.
(Cross talk.)
Q You mentioned a fixed timetable. Is it no longer a goal, and you have shifted to something fixed?
SEN. REID: It's a goal.
Q It's a goal.
(Off mike) -- 60 votes?
REP. HOYER: Well, there's not much the House can do.
SEN. REID: What can the House do?
REP. HOYER: We're going to pass the legislation; we're going to send it to the Senate. That's the process that is set up under our Constitution, and we're hopeful that the Senate will send that matter to the president for his action.
SEN. REID: Steny, and I think before there are a lot of crocodile tears spilled, the president signed, just before vetoing Labor, HHS, signed a Defense appropriation conference report for $470 billion. I think they can get by for a little while.
(Cross talk.)
Q Will refusing to send forward war supplementals remain --
SEN. REID: I'm sorry, start over again.
Q Will refusal to send forward war supplementals remain off the table for you? And if so, does that mean the president will be able to pursue his Iraq policy as long as his term lasts?
SEN. REID: That's the good news. That term is coming to a close. We're going to have a presidential election in less than a year. We are going to continue, until the course is changed, to change course in Iraq for the military and for the American taxpayer. So the president, I would hope, as Congressman Hoyer said, that the Republicans in the Senate will democratically allow us to move forward. If they don't it's not us taking away the bridge fund. It's their taking away the bridge fund.
This bill has $50 billion in it. If the president is not willing to take that with some conditions on it, namely that there should be a beginning of redeployment in 30 days, that we have a goal of having all of our troops out of there by the end of this year, actually December 15th, and there are a few other strings on it, then the president won't get his 50 billion. That's pretty clear.
Q (Off mike) -- have to get the money out of the Defense appropriations bill in order to continue the war?
SEN. REID: That's right.
Q Senator Reid, you have until February 1st then, correct, to allow the Pentagon to move the money around in the accounts? Is it your intention then --
SEN. REID: I don't know why the February 1st is a magic date. There's been a number of reports indicating that the military can do just fine until some time in April, but we will see. Of course, the president manipulates those numbers like he does everything else.
We will have to see how the military can respond. We would hope that that's not necessary. We would hope there would be a bridge fund of $50 billion that would run, according to the calculations I have, sometime around the 1st of February, and that we will be happy when we come back the first of the year and make a decision as to what other monies need to be given to the troops in Iraq.
SEN. SCHUMER: Just one other point: I mean, as Senator Reid said, we hope that they'll let us go forward and vote, and the president will approve it.
But if not, it'll be the first time the Iraq war is actually paid for if he has to take the money out of the Defense appropriations bill.
Q Mr. Reid, it's not clear yet that the Democrats in the House have the votes to have these conditions. If the House were to approve a clean $50 billion, would you promise to take that up too this week?
SEN. REID: Mr. Rogers, not promising anything at this time. We'll have to see what they do. I feel confident they will send us a bill with the strings on it. If they don't, we'll take a look at whatever -- whatever the House sends us. I have great respect for the House of Representatives, having served there, and we will take up whatever they send us on the Iraq war or anything else and do our best to move it down the road.
Thank you very much everybody.
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