Lynn C. Woolsey: “President Bush has recently indicated that he will ask Congress to approve another supplemental appropriations bill to…”

“President Bush has recently indicated that he will ask Congress to approve another supplemental appropriations bill to fund the ongoing military operations in Iraq. The number is rumored to be somewhere in the $80 billion range; $80 billion. If this request for emergency funds is anything like the last three passed in the Congress, we can expect two things: one, the President will once again refuse to explain precisely where this money will be spent; and, two, congressional Republicans will meekly accede to the President's demands without asking for even the slightest degree of accountability from the White House in return. We in Congress must do more than just rubber stamp the President's every last wish. We hold the power of the purse; and, accordingly, we must exercise our constitutional authority to hold the executive branch accountable. Up to now, the Congress has failed to hold the Bush administration accountable for the many mishaps and mistakes in Iraq; and, as a result, the Members of Congress, all 535 of us, are responsible for the nearly 1,500 American troops who have been needlessly killed in Iraq, not to mention the 11,000 Americans who have been forever wounded and the untold thousands of Iraqi civilians who have died in this war.”