Bob Filner: “since the President first proposed his $87 billion supplemental appropriations package last month, I have worried that…”

“since the President first proposed his $87 billion supplemental appropriations package last month, I have worried that the President's plan for bringing stability to Iraq lacks fiscal accountability and a clear plan for bringing our troops home, and has relied on U.S. troops taking almost all the risks, and American taxpayers paying virtually all the bills. I have been angered by the repeated stories of our troops in Iraq not being outfitted with state-of-the-art Kevler bulletproof vests and armored HMMVVs. Equally troubling is the lack of parity for important funding at home. This bill sends direct aid to Iraq for infrastructure improvements that dwarf investments in our own country. The bill spends nearly twice as much per capita for border protection and public safety services in Iraq as we spend at home, and 10 times more per capita in Iraq for new hospital facilities than we spend in the United States. In addition, this bill spends 11 times more per capita for sewer and water services than we invest in our own cities, and 350 times more per capita on rehabilitating Iraq's electric power infrastructure than we are spending on fixing similar problems here at home.”