Cord Byrd: “President Bush has said the bill does not fund the troops, which is false. The Senate bill provides $2 billion more than…”

“President Bush has said the bill does not fund the troops, which is false. The Senate bill provides $2 billion more than the President requested for the troops and provides $1.8 billion more for veterans health care. I regret this continual barrage of misinformation coming from the White House just as I regret the intransigence--the intransigence--of a President who will not cool off--and I say this respectfully--of a President who will not cool off and stop fearmongering long enough to negotiate a resolution to the differences in the bill's language. He--the President--has been invited to do so in good faith and yet still the almost daily castigation from the White House continues. I wonder about the effect on the morale of our brave fighting men and women when the President--any President--repeats inaccuracies like the Congress has failed to fully fund the troops. It seems to me that it is not a prudent thing to say. Congress and the American people support our troops, and the supplemental bill that we shall shortly take to conference robustly funds their needs in the field and cares for their needs after they return home. For the President to assert otherwise is a disservice--and I say this with the utmost respect. I will say it again. For the President to assert otherwise is a disservice.”