Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick: “I too rise to support the Obey-Lantos amendment. It is a good amendment. We do need to make sure that we do what is…”

“I too rise to support the Obey-Lantos amendment. It is a good amendment. We do need to make sure that we do what is necessary here, and I believe this amendment is a step in the right direction. If we do the 50/50 separation now, it gives us a chance to take a look at it and also allows Iraq, which must become a sovereign nation, time so that they can use that $2 trillion worth of oil reserves they have to pay back some of the money that we are now lending and giving to them. Iraq is not a poor country. They do have the wherewithal to pay the resources back. We right now need our own schools built better. We need our own roads. We need our judiciary system better financed and funded. This will allow us to do some of that and to recoup some of the moneys that we are giving to Iraq. As the Members know, this $87 billion builds Iraq better than Iraq was built before. We must take care of our troops. We must see that they get what they need.”