Department of Defense Appropriation Act, 2006

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATION ACT, 2006 -- (Extensions of Remarks - June 21, 2005)

SPEECH OF HON. DIANA DeGETTE OF COLORADO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2005

The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2863) making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, and for other purposes,

* Ms. DEGETTE. Mr. Chairman, despite its claims to the contrary, the Bush Administration continues to be dishonest with the American people about the situation in Iraq. First, it leads our country into war with Iraq under false pretenses--a war that has already cost more than 1,700 American lives and thousands more Iraqi lives. The Administration then refuses to admit that it does not have a viable plan to win the peace in Iraq and possesses no strategy for a withdrawal of United States troops. And most recently, while the President campaigns as a so-called ``War President,'' he refuses to request funding for military operations in Iraq in his own budget, instead funding it through the emergency appropriations process, a tactic that allows the President to keep the high costs of war out of his budget.

* Although today Congress has the opportunity to insert some much-needed accountability into the funding process, it will--like it has so many other times--function as a rubber stamp and approve another large funding bill--$45 billion--for Iraq without demanding answers from the Administration. Once this is approved, total funding for the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan will reach a mind-boggling $322 billion. And this certainly won't be the last of it. In fact, at current expenditure rates, the $45 billion will only cover the first six months of 2006, which means that Congress will be forced to approve tens of billions more in funding for Iraq in a matter of months.

* I believe it is critical that our country properly fund the operations in Iraq to ensure that our soldiers in the field have the equipment, munitions and protection they need and the benefits they so rightfully deserve when they return home. The majority of the $45 billion will go directly to support our troops in the form of equipment, body armor, increased pay and improved benefits for them and their families. While I will vote for this $45 billion funding package, I am concerned that the Majority in Congress has once again rebuffed efforts to require the Administration to be honest with the people about the situation in Iraq. To date, despite repeated requests from members of Congress, the Administration refuses to provide any sort of timeline for the withdrawal of United States troops, will not account for much of the current funding to Iraq, and resists coming clean about the full cost of future military efforts in Iraq.

* At the same time the Administration and the Republican Majority in Congress unabashedly spend billions of dollars in Iraq without question, they make cuts to crucial domestic programs in the name of fiscal responsibility--cuts, which compared to the budget for Iraq, have a negligible impact on our country's deficit. In fact, funding for this misguided war so significantly dwarfs funding for domestic programs that if we were to take just a fraction of this spending package for Iraq, we could fully fund No Child Left Behind, the Small Business Administration loan program, Head Start, Medicaid, and numerous other programs that make a daily difference in the lives of Americans.

* I find it truly ironic that Congress will spend a good portion of this week discussing the alleged lack of accountability at the United Nations, but refuses to acknowledge the abrogation of all accountability and responsibility that has been allowed to occur for too long in its own backyard--at 16th and Pennsylvania. It is time that the Administration owns up to the situation it has needlessly thrust our country in--it needs to formulate and disseminate a strategy for an eventual U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and must be upfront with Congress and the American people about the future costs of military operations in Iraq.

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