Lucille Roybal-Allard: “when President Bush's $87 billion supplemental request was presented to the Appropriations Committee, Chairman Young…”

“when President Bush's $87 billion supplemental request was presented to the Appropriations Committee, Chairman Young, Chairman Lewis and Chairman Kolbe had corrected a number of serious deficiencies in the President's budget request. For that reason, I reluctantly voted to support the committee bill with the hope that the serious weaknesses that still remained would be strengthened as the bill moved through the process. Unfortunately, that has not happened. Therefore, I will not support the supplemental bill before us today, because the majority has chosen to prevent the House from addressing the concerns many of my colleagues and I still have on the critical questions American taxpayers are asking. Questions such as: Are we doing all we can for our troops? How are we going to engage the international community for financial support? How are we going to pay for the $87 billion price tag and where is the accountability for this enormous and unprecedented request? The Obey amendment is the very amendment that best addresses these critical questions. Yet the House will not be allowed to vote on it. And for good reason, because if given the opportunity, the majority knows it would pass.”