Jim Kolbe: “I yield myself 1 minute here to respond to the previous speaker who alleged barrels of cash were going to be rolling…”

“I yield myself 1 minute here to respond to the previous speaker who alleged barrels of cash were going to be rolling into Iraq at the American taxpayers' expense. Obviously, he has not taken the time or just does not understand how this process works. But there is not cash that goes to Iraq with this money. This money is appropriated for purposes of the Foreign Assistance Act to be carried out by agencies, organizations of the Federal Government, that are qualified to enter into contracts. That would be the USAID, the Agency for International Development; it would be the Corps of Engineers; it could be the Centers for Disease Control or other Federal agencies that might enter into these kinds of contracts. But there is not cash that is going to be paid by the United States to Iraq. So it is simply a misunderstanding to assume that this is going to be cash being paid to Iraq. There is not a government to pay the cash to. It is projects that are needed to get the Iraqis on their feet, projects needed to create democracy in that country.”