Jim Kolbe: “Mr. Chairman, the total amount of this supplemental appropriation bill is over $86 billion. The foreign operations…”

“Mr. Chairman, the total amount of this supplemental appropriation bill is over $86 billion. The foreign operations chapter totals $21.071 billion. That is $221 million less than the President's request. My remarks today will be on that part of the bill. Mr. Chairman, let me first say that I strongly support the objectives the President seeks to achieve with this supplemental request for Iraq and Afghanistan. This supplemental bill supports our men and women in uniform and it provides reconstruction resources to stabilize and improve conditions in those countries that will enable us to bring our troops home soon. These reconstruction funds are essential to achieving our national security and our foreign policy objectives and to defeating terrorism. This portion of the supplemental is essential to providing for a more stable and a more peaceful world. I want to applaud Ambassador Bremer and the men and women in our Coalition Provisional Authority and various Federal agencies that are part of our U.S. team for their dedicated service under the most difficult of circumstances.”