Burgess Owens: “the war in Iraq is a monster storm. It is a social tsunami battering the positive components of our potentially great…”

“the war in Iraq is a monster storm. It is a social tsunami battering the positive components of our potentially great society. The billions of dollars being poured into this war could solve dozens of major catastrophic problems that are facing our Nation. Recently, a new report was released, authored partially by our own Science Committee, which said that we have a dangerously inadequate education system. When I came to Congress in 1983, Ronald Reagan was saying the same thing. He had a commission which came out with a report that said, our Nation is at risk. We still have not done anything of great substance to deal with the problems that were highlighted. We still have not appropriated the money to build laboratories in public schools, junior high schools and high schools. We still don't have adequate libraries. We still don't have the money which pays salaries which would produce the science teachers that are necessary. We have a crisis in health care. Forty million people are not covered at all and there are many others who are inadequately covered. We have falling standards of living with gross inequities. The assets that reflect wealth among black Americans total less than $20,000 per family. $120,000 per family for white Americans. Both standards are falling, not climbing. I am a member of the Out of Iraq Caucus. I welcome the opportunity tomorrow to begin a debate which would at least allow us to discuss in an open forum the problems we are facing.…”