Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in favor of H.R. 4899, the Supplemental Appropriations for FY 2010. As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, I, along with many of my colleagues, have been integrally involved in the oversight of our nation's funding and support of our efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan, as well as other initiatives aimed at supporting our war fighters. The Senate's bill, which we are considering tonight, provides $58.8 billion in supplemental funds for FY 2010, including $37.1 billion for the war and $5.1 billion for FEMA, as well as $13 billion in mandatory funds to Vietnam Veterans exposed to Agent Orange. While I do support the President's request for additional funding to support our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is important that we continue to monitor and assess our mission and role in both of these countries, particularly given the array of investments we need to make right here at home. Since 2001, Congress has provided close to $1 trillion in direct funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of 18 emergency supplemental bills, not including the support we provided for the efforts in our regular annual Appropriations bills. Combined, it's estimated that we've spent between $1.5 trillion to almost to $3 trillion so far on these wars.…”