Trent Lott: “I have not yielded the floor, so I wish to go ahead and complete my remarks on the broader issues that have been raised…”

“I have not yielded the floor, so I wish to go ahead and complete my remarks on the broader issues that have been raised here. We debated in March and April and May whether we should confirm General Petraeus, whether we should go forward with the funds that our troops needed to do the job, and whether the surge could go forward. The vote was 80 to 14 in May to go forward with trying to bring down the violence, get control and, of course, encourage the Iraqi government to do more. We confirmed General Petraeus unanimously. They are already saying the surge has failed when, as a matter of fact, the troops that were supposed to be involved in that effort have only been there for some 3 weeks. So I think it is premature and unfair to the men and women who are there on the ground doing the job. We need to have the debate, allow both sides to have their say, but it is going to require 60 votes, and then we can go on to the underlying bill. This is the Defense authorization bill. Every year we pass the Defense authorization bill. Yet I think we have had maybe one amendment even considered that has to do with the underlying bill, which provides funds and authorization for our troops for the equipment they need, the supplies, the ships, the planes, the pay raise, and quality of life. That is something we have to come to terms with. We have to have a debate on amendments that affect this bill. We could work out how to do that.”