Cliff Stearns: “we will soon be asked to provide an additional $87 billion in order to continue our efforts abroad in Iraq and…”

“we will soon be asked to provide an additional $87 billion in order to continue our efforts abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, many, as you just heard, are complaining about the costs in Iraq and the billions that will be needed to maintain a stable Iraq into the future. One question I ask for my colleagues and the American people to consider is, what is the cost if we do not act? In reality, very few Members of Congress will vote against the President's supplemental request, but we do not need to blindly cast our vote without providing options on how to at least partially offset the cost for this reconstruction. I recently had town meetings in my Congressional District. Some of the questions that some of the constituents asked centered on why the American taxpayer has to foot the entire bill for Iraq reconstruction? Why can Iraq not provide funding for reconstruction and security themselves? I think all of my colleagues would agree this is a valid question. However, with the decrepit state of Iraq's infrastructure and economy, such a contribution from a people just emerging from decades of oppression and neglect, it is impossible to expect Iraq to provide much in the way of reconstruction funding in the near future. The American people are generous people. They understand that it is for the greater good to help someone help themselves.”