Mike Thompson: “I don't come to the floor often on Special Orders, but I think today this issue is so critically important not only for…”

“I don't come to the floor often on Special Orders, but I think today this issue is so critically important not only for the American taxpayers but for the men and women who are serving so bravely in Iraq, and this is such a long overdue issue, as the gentleman mentioned, I helped write this bill but this came about after two Congresses of my own bill, the Iraq War Funding Accountability Act, that in the last Congress, as you know, was a Blue Dog-endorsed measure. That was an attempt to bring about accountability in Iraq in regard to the moneys that are spent by contractors in the reconstruction areas taking place in Iraq. Unfortunately, we were not allowed under the last Congress or the last majority to bring this measure forward so we could debate it, so we could discuss it, so we could vote on it. But fortunately, with the new leadership in Congress, this has become an issue that has not only been discussed and debated but an issue that is going to be included in the bill that we have before us this week. And it's just so long overdue on the part of the American taxpayers and the men and women who are serving who, because this money is misspent, misdirected, sometimes lost, are going without the equipment that they need.”