Providing for consideration of H.R. 1268, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and tsunami Relief, 2005

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1268, EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT FOR DEFENSE, THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR, AND TSUNAMI RELIEF, 2005 -- (House of Representatives - March 15, 2005)

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I wish to commend the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis); the ranking member, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey); and the chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Defense, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha). They have written a bill that seeks to address the needs of our troops and provide needed reconstruction funds to Iraq, Afghanistan and those nations devastated by the recent tsunami.

I know the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) took special care in ensuring that this bill contains adequate vehicle and personal protection for our troops in Iraq, and to make sure that our military will be adequately equipped and supplied for upcoming troop rotations in Iraq.

It is, therefore, difficult for me to rise and declare my opposition to this bill. My opposition is not meant as an affront to their hard work and care for the security of our troops. Every single Member of this House, including myself, shares their concerns and their commitment to the safety and well-being of our men and women in uniform who are serving so courageously under such difficult circumstances, nor do I object to the foreign aid of this bill.

So why do I rise in opposition? It is quite simple. Once this supplemental is signed into law, Congress will have provided this administration with nearly $300 billion for military and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Two years after we invaded Iraq President Bush still asked for these moneys under emergency authority. Tomorrow we are going to debate the President's budget. There are no funds in his budget or the Republican budget resolution for the continuing war in Iraq or security operations in Afghanistan. Why not? Is the President telling us that all our troops are coming home next year, or is he just saying that we can look forward to year after year of so-called emergency bills totaling hundreds of billions of dollars because his administration has no idea how long we are going to be engaged in Iraq and how much it is going to cost the American people in blood and treasure.

I believe Congress must know the answers to those questions before we vote more money for this war. These funds should be in the budget, and the cost of these wars should be projected over the next 5 years just like every item in the budget. We know we are in Iraq. It is not a surprise. It is certainly not an unforeseen emergency. The President has told us we are going to be there next year, so why is there no money for these operations in the budget? How much do they project these wars will cost? How do they propose we pay for it? Right now we borrow money to pay for the war, nearly $300 billion worth. We do not pay for it, we simply go deeper and deeper into debt and pass the bill on to our children.

Mr. Speaker, this is a profound failure of accountability, the failure to level with the American people.

This week when Congress debates the budget resolution we will be asked to vote for a bill which cuts education, cuts health care, cuts veterans benefits, economic development for our cities and towns, and many other critical projects. But the war, it is not part of the budget or subject to cuts or reconciliation. It is all off the books.

From the very first day when we were told the U.S. had to invade Iraq we have been lied to. We were lied to about the weapons of mass destruction. We were lied to about Saddam Hussein having ties to al Qaeda. We were lied to about how much the war would cost and how long it would take to bring stability to Iraq.

We are here today debating a bill that is filled with armored Humvees and personal body armor for our troops. But, Mr. Speaker, we provided money for those items in 2002 before we went to war in Iraq, and we provided it again in the first supplemental on Iraq and in the second supplemental on Iraq and in the third supplemental on Iraq. So why are so many of our troops still lacking body armor and still driving unprotected vehicles? Congress sent that money specifically to meet those needs. So what happened to the money? Why were those needs not met? That is a deadly serious question of accountability.

The Pentagon's own inspector general says that nearly $9 billion in reconstruction funds for Iraq cannot be accounted for. Another $15 million may have been subject to fraud by the very companies the Pentagon chooses to give contracts to for services in Iraq. That is taxpayer money provided by my constituents.

Mr. Speaker, we need to have a real debate about our policy in Iraq. Every few months we get an emergency supplemental for the war on Iraq. We are told we have to vote for it in order to show our support for our troops, and I expect that this bill will probably pass overwhelmingly. But it is just more of the same.

There comes a time when you just have to stop and say no more, not until we get real answers to hard questions, not until we know where we are going in Iraq and how much it is going to cost.

Mr. Speaker, I oppose this bill; and I urge my colleagues to oppose it.

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