Hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee - Fiscal Year 2008 Supplemental
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SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL): Thank you, Senator Byrd, and thank you for this hearing. It's been a good one, an important one, and I appreciate your gathering us together. Mr. Nussle, thank you for joining us too. In your opening statement you have what I think really tells the story when you refer to your hometown, and you say, "Expanding government doesn't create one job in my hometown of Manchester, Iowa."
I've seen that movie before. I saw that movie in 1994 if you'll recall when the Gingrich folks closed down the government, and Rush Limbaugh said nobody's going to notice. But they did because whether you like it or not or want to concede it or not there are some fundamental functions of government which are important to every American, and you never know what tomorrow will bring.
Do you think that Senator Landrieu had any idea a month in advance what was going to happen to her poor town of New Orleans? Do you think she anticipated that if something awful happened to New Orleans, as you might anticipate in Manchester, Iowa with maybe a tornado, that the government would be prepared to respond? She counted on it and it didn't happen. This mindset that you peddle -- that the government is our enemy -- there's nothing they do that's right -- we don't really need them -- if it went away life wouldn't change -- is just plain wrong.
You and I were on an airplane together recently flying out here to Washington, trusting that the air traffic controllers were well skilled and there were enough of them to land that plane safely and that somebody had inspected that plane to make sure that it was safe to get on board for you and your wife and for me.
So this concept -- this notion that government can be dismissed and ignored and it really isn't important -- I'm afraid the record of this administration proves just the opposite. I share the frustration of others here. I voted against this war, and for the longest time I voted to fund it believing that was the only way to -- be the -- do the right thing for the troops and bring it to a conclusion, and now I've reached a different conclusion. Sending a blank check to this president for this war is going to prolong the killing, prolong the deaths, the injuries that will return and this president wants to hand off the ball on January 20th, 2009 and walk away.
That isn't the way we should deal with it. We should deal with it honestly in terms of what's happening on the ground. To think in this room that we celebrated the first anniversary of a temporary surge. Next year does the military want to celebrate the second anniversary of a temporary surge? There comes a point where it isn't temporary anymore, as comes a point where this isn't an emergency spending bill. Emergency suggests something unanticipated. Sadly, we've had to anticipate another year of war for the last five and maybe beyond.
But let me get down to a real emergency. A lot of things have been mentioned here and this is something unanticipated. I left here to go out in the hall and meet with the head of the World Food Program. She's a lovely woman who is doing her darnedest to try to feed a lot of starving people around the world. She's in trouble. There's been a dramatic increase in food prices. The price of rice in the last few months has gone up 83 percent. There are people starving. Mr. Zoellick at the World Bank warns us that over 30 nations may be facing food riots and instability -- we may see their governments fall because of this. Now, that was unanticipated. Maybe somebody saw it coming -- I didn't.
So I just have to tell you when she asked for $500 million more in food aid I want to ask you do you believe that's a kind of emergency we should include in this supplemental to avert a crisis of starvation and political instability around the world? I met with Secretary Rice this week -- last week -- and had breakfast with her and she said we need it -- give us the authority to buy some things locally so we can stretch it even further, but we need it. So based on that do you believe this administration should take this world food crisis and put it in the emergency category of things we need to do right now?
MR. NUSSLE: Well, first of all, Senator, and you know this from both of our proud traditions from the Corn Belt and the Food Belt that we stand behind absolutely no one in the world when it comes to the generosity of the American people.
SEN. DURBIN: It isn't enough, Jim. It isn't enough. They need more.
MR. NUSSLE: But we shouldn't forget that that's also done. I would say, very respectfully, we do a lot. We do more than any other country. We take leadership roles --
SEN. DURBIN: But is that a reason to do nothing now?
MR. NUSSLE: That's suggesting -- and see, that's the reason I bring that up because that's suggesting we're doing nothing now and that is simply not the case.
SEN. DURBIN: We need to do more, Jim. If your neighbor is starving even though you have helped him yesterday and they're starving today what are you going to do about it? Say, don't you remember the good things we did yesterday?
MR. NUSSLE: But we are helping --
SEN. DURBIN: No, we're not helping enough. Two hundred million dollars under the Emerson program is not enough. She made it clear to me in the hallway. She needs $500 million emergency money. Do you believe that that's the kind of emergency that should be included in the supplemental?
MR. NUSSLE: I believe it should not be forgotten what the American people already do and the generosity we already show --
SEN. DURBIN: So the answer is no?
MR. NUSSLE: -- to the rest of the world and we are doing more as we just announced on Monday.
SEN. DURBIN: So the answer is yes or no?
MR. NUSSLE: And we need partners around the world to step up in order to help assist in this --
SEN. DURBIN: Come on, Jim. Stick with me, buddy. Yes or no?
MR. NUSSLE: I believe that not only have we requested funds not only in this appropriation but in others to meet that challenge plus the announcement that we made --
SEN. DURBIN: Straight talking Iowa talk -- yes or no?
MR. NUSSLE: We're asking -- we have $500 million in this request alone.
SEN. DURBIN: Five hundred million in this supplemental request for world --
MR. NUSSLE: Forty percent -- forty percent of this is what we have been asked for of the $500 million is what -- at least that was my understanding and that's --
SEN. DURBIN: No. No.
MR. NUSSLE: -- what we announced on Monday.
SEN. DURBIN: No. You -- let me just tell you this is a crisis and we can't avert it and some day someone's going to play back the video tape after this global food crisis and say why did America's director of the budget not acknowledge the obvious if the head of the World Bank has acknowledged it. Mr. Chairman, you've been kind with your time. I yield.
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