Maria Cantwell: “I rise to join my well-meaning colleagues on both sides of this debate in trying to determine the best mechanism for not…”

“I rise to join my well-meaning colleagues on both sides of this debate in trying to determine the best mechanism for not only our leadership in Iraq and getting the Iraqi people on their feet, but also in getting other countries to help by forgiving Iraqi debt. It is crucial that we in this Chamber send a strong message to the Iraqi people that we will be the world's most outspoken advocate for Iraqi reconstruction and that the United States will play a leadership role. Now I don't impugn the motives of other Members who want to qualify our assistance through a loan formula. I share my colleagues' concerns that the funding for Iraq reconstruction is a serious cost that we need to thoroughly consider and oversee. However, I think it is critically important to realize that Americans have already been making a serious investment in this region in order to ensure that we are so close to achieving: A stable, peaceful, democratic Iraq. We spent billions of dollars to expel Hussein out of Kuwait; we spent billions throughout the nineties patrolling a no-fly zone; and we spent billions to liberate Iraq, and we are spending billions to secure and stabilize the country. We are now the closest we have ever been to achieving the very goal that we have sacrificed lives and spent billions to achieve. We are very close to taking the Iraqi people off their knees and putting them on their feet.”