National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2005

NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005 -- (House of Representatives - May 19, 2004)

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Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time and applaud the gentleman for all the good work he is doing for the United States.

Mr. Chairman, no Member in this body disagrees that so long as our troops remain in Iraq, they should have the resources they need in order to protect their lives. We have not done well in this area up to this point, and we must do better.

Further, in my judgment, the Bush administration has done a terrible job in keeping faith with our veterans. This bill makes a start in improving that situation, but we have a very long way to go in that area, especially with regard to veterans health care.

Mr. Chairman, there are a lot of good things in this bill, and there are in my view portions of this bill that are not good and that are very wasteful of taxpayer money.

Most importantly, however, is what is lacking in this legislation, and that is there is no demand in this bill for the President to provide us with an exit strategy from Iraq, a timetable as to how we can get out. Since the war in Iraq began, we have lost 790 men and women, over 4,500 have been wounded; and we are spending billions every month.

Meanwhile, anti-American feelings are growing throughout the Muslim world, breeding more potential terrorists, and we are becoming increasingly isolated from our long-term allies. Significantly, in a recent U.S. Government-sponsored poll, 82 percent of the Iraqi people indicated that they now disapprove of the U.S. and allied military being in their country; 82 percent disapprove. The war in Iraq, in my view, is not helping us in the very difficult struggle against international terrorism. In many ways, it is making a bad situation worse.

The time is long overdue for President Bush to develop an exit strategy as to when the Iraqi people will really be allowed to govern themselves. It is not good enough for the U.S. to install Iraqi figureheads who do not have the support or confidence of the Iraqi people. The President must also tell us when the U.N. and the international community will be helping rebuild Iraq. That should not only be the burden of our soldiers and our taxpayers. President Bush must do all that he can to internationalize the transition situation.

Lastly, Mr. Chairman, and most importantly, the President must begin to tell us when American troops will begin coming home. We have lost 790 men and women already, 4,500 have been wounded, many thousands of Iraqi men, women and children are dead. We need an exit strategy to get our troops home as soon as feasible.

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