Denise Majette: “today I rise because we have reached the 1- year anniversary of the war in Iraq. One year ago, we invaded Iraq because…”

“today I rise because we have reached the 1- year anniversary of the war in Iraq. One year ago, we invaded Iraq because the President said Saddam Hussein posed an imminent threat to the United States. A ``mortal threat,'' he said. We were told Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. We were told the international community would be involved, providing troops and financial assistance. We were told the troops would get whatever they needed to get the job done. So on March 19, 2003, we invaded Iraq. And here we are, 1 year later. Let's examine the facts: CIA Director George Tenet said intelligence agencies never told the White House that Iraq posed an imminent threat. No weapons of mass destruction have been found. American taxpayers are paying almost all the bills--$120 billion and still rising. Most importantly, American soldiers are enduring almost all the casualties--more than 560 Americans killed and thousands more wounded. Our troops did not get the equipment they needed to do their jobs safely--the President failed to include enough funds in his budget to pay for the war in Iraq. Moreover, there is no money in the President's own proposed budget for 2005 to pay for the war in Iraq. He apparently chooses to keep Congress and the American people in the dark about how much we will need to spend. Let me tell you what's going on today with this resolution. It is an attempt to rewrite history.…”