Emergency Supplemental Approptriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsumani Relief, 2005

EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT FOR DEFENSE, THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR, AND TSUMANI RELIEF, 2005 -- (Extensions of Remarks - March 17, 2005)

SPEECH OF
HON. DIANA DeGETTE
OF COLORADO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2005

The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union had under consideration of the bill (H.R. 1268) making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, and for other purposes.

Ms. DEGETTE. Mr. Chairman, despite many reservations, I am supporting the bill before us today because I believe it is essential that this body unequivocally supports our troops in the field and their families here at home. By providing $2 billion more than the President's request for equipment and munitions, this bill will help to ensure that soldiers in the field finally have the body armor, night vision equipment, and vehicle armor they should have had since military operations began in Iraq. Additionally, by significantly increasing the Military Death Gratuity and the Subsidized Life Insurance benefit, this bill will help to guarantee that the families of deceased soldiers will have adequate financial resources in their time of need.

While it is critical that this bill provides soldiers and their families with the protection and benefits they so rightfully deserve, I remain deeply concerned that it continues to leave the Administration and the Department of Defense unaccountable for the expenditures in Iraq. I am distressed by the alleged reports of waste, corruption and mismanagement of previous funds earmarked for the military operations and reconstruction in Iraq. Further, I am troubled to learn that, according to several studies, only a portion of every dollar spent on rebuilding Iraq has gone to improving the lives of Iraqis. Unfortunately, the efforts made by me and other members of Congress to insert accountability and transparency into the funding process, including the most recent bipartisan effort to establish a commission to investigate the costs of the reconstruction in Iraq, have been repeatedly rejected by the Majority in Congress.

I am similarly disappointed that this Administration insists on funding the war in Iraq using the emergency appropriations process--a process that should be reserved for true emergencies, like tsunami relief. While the Bush Administration claims that it excludes these costs from the annual budget process because it cannot anticipate future war costs, the true reason for this exclusion is to make the already massive deficit look slightly, albeit artificially, lower. This Administration is therefore abusing the emergency appropriations process in order to help obscure and hide the extent of its fiscal recklessness from the American people. This is the same sort of fuzzy accounting that was employed by the likes of Enron and WorldCom, and yet, while those corporations were ultimately held accountable, this Administration continues not to be.

While I have significant ideological problems with this bill, I cannot in good faith turn my back on the courageous men and women who have so valiantly served to preserve the peace in Iraq. They deserve to enter the battlefield with adequate armor and equipment and are similarly entitled to an increase in benefits for them and for their families.

However, I vote in favor of this bill with the sincere hope that this is the last time the Administration abuses the emergency appropriations process and comes to this body with such a request.

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