Attaching Irrelevant Spending To The Iraq And Afghanistan Supplemental

Floor Speech

ATTACHING IRRELEVANT SPENDING TO THE IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN SUPPLEMENTAL

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Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, the current debate over the Iraq and Afghanistan supplemental is a perfect example of what frustrates Americans about Washington. The folks in my district and across the country want Congress to pass a clean funding bill for the troops, plain and simple. They certainly don't want us playing politics with a bill to fund men and women currently in harm's way. Yet that is exactly what some in Congress are trying to do, using the oldest trick in the book by attaching billions of dollars in barely relevant spending to an emergency war funding bill. But it's not just the American people that we're frustrating with these political games. How must Congress look in the eyes of those that we have sent to fight on our behalf? This body should not attempt to tie troop funding to controversial programs. Furthermore, we must refrain from the temptation to squander limited funds on objectives unrelated to the combat efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. How do we claim to be responsible stewards of the taxpayers' money when Congress can't pass an emergency supplemental for our combat forces without loading it up like a Christmas tree?

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