National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008

Floor Speech

NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008 -- (Senate - July 13, 2007)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, had I been present for the vote on the Dorgan amendment, I would have voted in favor of it.

We're coming up on the sixth anniversary of 9/11, and the bloodthirsty terrorist who plotted this slaughter of nearly 3,000 Americans is still a free man. Back then, could any of us ever have imagined such a failure on the part of this administration? Could any of us have believed that--more than half a decade later--Osama bin Laden would still be enjoying safe haven? Two wars and three elections later--and Osama remains unscathed.

What would our reaction have been nearly 6 years ago, had President Bush gone on national television and predicted this? What would we have said if he'd told us that the capture of the man who'd unleashed such horror simply wasn't a top priority of his administration? Would any American have believed him?

The amendment before us aims to make this a top priority. It obligates the administration to provide Congress with regular reports on the progress made, if any, towards the capture or killing of Osama bin Laden and his closest confederates.

The White House seems to have forgotten bin Laden. The American people have not.

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