C. W. Bill Young: “I believe that when the political smoke of this great debate today clears, that this bill is going to pass with a very…”

“I believe that when the political smoke of this great debate today clears, that this bill is going to pass with a very substantial vote. I think it is going to be passed with a substantial vote because every one of us in this Chamber wants to keep the commitment that we made several years ago after September 11, that we are going to support our troops when they are in the field, when they are at risk, when they are in harm's way. This is just another statement, as the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) has repeatedly said today, we have spent a lot of money of American taxpayer dollars to fund the operation, and we want to make sure that our troops understand that we believe they are doing a good job, and they are. We want to let them know that they are not in harm's way in vain. So I think the bill is going to pass with a nice vote. But do my colleagues know something? I had a chance to be the sponsor of the bill that appropriated $40 billion on September 14 of 2001. I had the privilege of being the sponsor of the supplemental that the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) talked about, that was sizable, to pay for our troops in the field and what they needed by way of equipment. But do my colleagues know something? Besides being a player to that extent, I am not offended that I was not asked to write this bill. I am very satisfied that the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde) and his committee wrote a very good bill.”