Bill Delahunt: “Let us remind our colleagues tomorrow during the course of the debate and the American people here tonight that there…”

“Let us remind our colleagues tomorrow during the course of the debate and the American people here tonight that there exists in Iraq a so-called governing council that Mr. Bremer himself in consultation with the White House and the leadership in the administration selected. There are 25 of them. They were handpicked by Mr. Bremer. These individuals came to Washington 3 or 4 weeks ago to say, cede us more authority or things are unraveling and, furthermore, you are spending money that you should not be spending. You are wasting American taxpayers' dollars. Let me just give you one example. There was a cement factory somewhere in Iraq. The American estimates for rebuilding that cement factory and bringing it up to Western standards was $15 million. And somebody in the military, not in the civilian leadership of the Department of Defense, but in the military said, I am going to make a decision and let the Iraqis build it. It is now up and running. The cost went from $15 million down to $80,000. $80,000. And they want a blank check. No, no, no, Madam Speaker, no blank checks anymore. No.”