Cord Byrd: “by now it has become evident to even the most die-hard supporter of the President's goals for the reconstruction of Iraq…”

“by now it has become evident to even the most die-hard supporter of the President's goals for the reconstruction of Iraq that the $20.3 billion request presented to Congress contains scores of questionable projects and programs: $95 million for basic cosmetics at Iraq's airport; $19 million to build a wireless Internet system for the Iraq post office; $9 million to outfit Iraq with ZIP Codes; $54 million for a computer study for the Iraq Postal Service. The list goes on and on and on. In fact, the budget request for the reconstruction of Iraq is riddled with frivolous, preposterous items. This is not just my conclusion. The Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee last week found a total of $1.655 billion in questionable and unnecessary expenditures buried deep within the President's $20.3 billion request for Iraq's reconstruction. As a result, the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee reallocated that money to other priorities. I applaud the actions of the House Appropriations Committee.…”