David Obey: “Mr. Speaker, this bill gives the President the exit strategy from the Iraqi civil war that up until now he has not had.…”

“Mr. Speaker, this bill gives the President the exit strategy from the Iraqi civil war that up until now he has not had. Next Tuesday will be the fourth anniversary of the President's 'Mission Accomplished' landing on that famous aircraft carrier. On that date, U.S. troops had won the war in Iraq, but since that time the administration's mismanagement, their misjudgments, and their missed opportunities have entangled us in a quagmire that has become a prolonged civil war. That civil war has gutted our influence in the Middle East and much of the world. In the last 4 years, the administration has spent over half a trillion dollars. It has stretched the Army to the limit, brought our Guard and Reserve to the breaking point, and reduced our military to the lowest state of military readiness in modern history. The President has refused to finance this war through the normal appropriations process. He has chosen to mask the true cost of the war by paying for it on the installment plan through a series of supplemental requests. He has now requested another supplemental of almost another $100 billion in military spending, and almost $4 billion in other additional spending. The bill before us today is our response. We provide $4 billion more than the President asked for for troops in the field.”