Neil Abercrombie: “I will ask to have the article that the gentleman from Pennsylvania is referring to entered into the Record as part of…”

“I will ask to have the article that the gentleman from Pennsylvania is referring to entered into the Record as part of our deliberation. [From Roll Call, Feb. 24, 2004] Iraqi Money Flows (By Brody Mullins) Several well-heeled Iraqis who hope to play central roles in Iraq's emerging government have launched lobbying campaigns in Washington to influence the Bush administration and Congress as they work to shape a permanent government in Iraq. The group of Iraqis, which include three members of the U.S.-created Iraqi Governing Council, are spending as much as $100,000 per month on lobbying firms and public relations agents to press U.S. officials to create a modern, democratic government that is not dominated by Islamic conservatives. "It's like they are running for president," said one U.S. official of the competing public relations efforts in Washington. The three Iraqis began their public relations efforts in Washington more than a decade after another Iraqi member of the Iraqi Governing Council--Ahmed Chalabi--began cultivating close ties to now-Vice President Cheney and other key administration officials. According to forms filed with the Justice Department, Ayad Allawi, a member and former president of the Iraqi Governing Council, has begun an expensive lobbying and public relations effort to press U.S. officials to build a modern democratic government that builds on Iraq's existing foundations.”