Frank Lautenberg: “I was one of a very small group to have voted against the supplemental appropriations bill for Iraq. I want to make sure…”

“I was one of a very small group to have voted against the supplemental appropriations bill for Iraq. I want to make sure my vote is clearly understood. I support taking care of our military, making sure their conditions are as comfortable as they can be under difficult circumstances, making sure they have the latest in weaponry, and that they are treated fairly and they receive medical care and their health care is the best we can offer. I was prepared to vote for that $67 billion in a flash, but that was not the only thing we voted on. We also voted on extending $20 billion to Iraq for reconstruction. I think it is a noble effort we are making to show we care about other people, but we also have to care about the people here. We also have to worry about the schools here that are crumbling, schools where it is hard to learn. We also have to understand that when we say Leave No Child Behind, we mean all the children, and we need more funding to do that. That has to be paid for. We do not seem to have the funds for that. Thank goodness we have Social Security surpluses we can borrow from-- money we can take from the senior citizens, those who are here now and those in the future.”