Dick Durbin: “Some of us went home last week after the vote dispirited because this administration was afraid to offer the Iraq…”

“Some of us went home last week after the vote dispirited because this administration was afraid to offer the Iraq reconstruction package as an up-or-down vote. They believed--and I think they were right--they couldn't pass it. So many Members of Congress had so many questions and reservations, the only way it could pass was to combine it with the money for our troops. Many of us, looking at this terrible Faustian bargain, had to vote for the bill to support the troops, believing that, frankly, if it were my child, someone near or dear to my family, as it is for so many people in Illinois, I wouldn't want to shortchange the troops one penny. So we ended up passing about $15 or $16 billion in reconstruction for Iraq. Trust me, stories are already pouring in about some of the questionable contracting that is going on over there. There is real doubt among some as to whether this money will achieve the goal we are seeking. We want peace in Iraq. We want stability. We want our troops to come home. But we want to do it in the right way. So far, this administration, since the declaration of the military victory, has seen a long string of embarrassments and defeats and setbacks.”