Jon L. Christensen: “I rise to oppose President Bush's request of $87 billion for the rebuilding of Iraq. Mr. Chairman, these are the most…”

“I rise to oppose President Bush's request of $87 billion for the rebuilding of Iraq. Mr. Chairman, these are the most troubling days this country has gone through in my lifetime, not just because we are at war, or even because of the terrorist attacks on 9/11, as horrific as that event and its aftermath has been, but because we are living in a time when we cannot rely on government to protect our civil liberties, and we cannot rely on the word and the stated intent of the administration in power. Moreover, it is a time when those sworn to uphold the Constitution undermine it at every opportunity. For the President to ask then for $87 billion after having sent this country into the largest deficit in year with tax cuts for the wealthy and an ill conceived economic policy, without being accountable for the prior $65 billion, or even trying to justify this new request, is unbecoming of the high office he holds and a slap in the face of Members of Congress and the people we represent. Mr. Chairman, I want our men and women protected, well equipped and with their needs addressed. I want us to restore basic stability and services to Iraq. I want troop support in Iraq from our allies, and I want the bulk of our soldiers home and out of harm's way. More than anything, I want us to become a better nation and to regain the respect and the moral leadership that the current administration has squandered away.”