Charles Skelton: “it is the constitutional job of the Congress of the United States to maintain and support the armed services of our…”

“it is the constitutional job of the Congress of the United States to maintain and support the armed services of our country. I stand here in support of this resolution tonight because of that constitutional duty. And I know there have been many bits of discussion about the pros and cons of the line items in this bill. And I know that there are clouds that hang over the question of intelligence as to our initial decision going into Iraq. And I know there are clouds that hang over the decision-making process as to our going in. But the American troops are there. It is our duty to support them so that they may be victorious in this very arduous and difficult, unique and never-seen-before challenge that Americans in uniform have had. I had the opportunity about a month ago to visit with young folks in uniform, actually of all services, in and around Iraq, to look at their faces and know that each one of them whether they came from small towns or inner cities or some from suburbs of America, that they knew their duty, that they were good soldiers, that they wore the American uniform proudly, and that they had a mission to accomplish. For us tonight, we have a mission to accomplish and that mission is to support this resolution. We have no other choice.”