David Obey: “I yield myself 9 minutes. Madam Speaker, let me say that this motion to instruct is, I think, fairly straightforward and…”

“I yield myself 9 minutes. Madam Speaker, let me say that this motion to instruct is, I think, fairly straightforward and simple, although the context in which it is offered is certainly not. What this motion attempts to do is simply insist that the $50 million contained in the House bill, but not contained in the Senate bill, for the purpose of retrofitting existing facilities and constructing special overhead cover devices to protect soldiers in bases throughout Iraq, is maintained. {time} 1045 That overhead cover system would provide protection from artillery, rocket-propelled grenades and missile attack up to and including 122 millimeter rockets. That is virtually exactly what this does. But let me, in the context of offering this proposal, make a few observations. Even if this motion is adopted, and I would certainly expect that it would be, I think that we still must face the fact that our troops will not be adequately protected, nor will American citizens abroad be adequately protected so long as our Government is still taking actions which discredit this Nation and this Congress is continuing to neglect its oversight responsibilities with respect to those actions. Let me give three examples.…”