No Further Supplemental Without Guarantees for Meeting the Needs of Our Soldiers

NO FURTHER SUPPLEMENTAL WITHOUT GUARANTEES FOR MEETING THE NEEDS OF OUR SOLDIERS -- (House of Representatives - February 17, 2005)

(Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)

Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, I, like most of my colleagues on the floor, was horrified that our soldiers in Iraq had to scavenge junk yards of former Iraqi military equipment for metal and sheet armor to improve their own vehicles. My constituents in the Oregon National Guard were doing this and supplementing it with plywood and sandbags.

We were promised "up-armoring" by the administration, but this is still woefully inadequate. The additional weight puts increased stress on the suspension and drive-train of the vehicles, hampering their operational efficiency and making them slower. But, even worse, the fact that the floor is not protected means that the insurgents are now targeting these up-armored vehicles. Just a couple of weeks ago, I had one of my constituents lose a foot because of such an attack.

Two years later, and after over $200 billion that Congress has given the administration for the war in Iraq, we should not approve another supplemental budget request without adequate guarantees that, finally, the needs of our soldiers will be met.

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