Robert C. Byrd: “It is our job, as elected representatives of the people, to ensure that this spending request meets the needs of our…”

So there's--there will not be a cutback in the R&R leave for our troops in Iraq?

I cannot support this item unless there are some limitations on it, unless Congress can exercise its power over the purse, as the Constitution provides.

Promoting efficiency and preventing fraud in defense acquisitions will obviously be a high priority.

The size of the insurgency in Iraq has been consistently underestimated, in terms of the size and the force.