Nick Rahall: “when President Bush told the American people he was against nation-building, no one, including myself, thought he was…”

“when President Bush told the American people he was against nation-building, no one, including myself, thought he was talking about America. Let me begin at the outset by making very clear my support for our valiant soldiers who are pursuing our enemies in Afghanistan and other parts of the world and are securing the peace in Iraq. The bill before us today, just as it ignites the Iraqi economy and keeps Iraqi kids out of more debt, it costs our American grandchildren and great, great grandchildren more long-term debt while America herself crumbles. This bill's priorities are wrong, Mr. Chairman. There is plenty of money in here for Iraqi health care but not one dime of the $1.8 billion American veterans need for their health care, which the majority in this Congress seem hell bent on ignoring. Why is that? The White House will not fund the No Child Left Behind education initiative, but we are supposed to pay Iraqi teachers' salaries. Why is that? The President wants $856 million to upgrade three Iraqi airports, a seaport, and rail lines, while Amtrak is starved for funds in this country, and our ports remain vulnerable to attack. Why is that? The White House has a paltry underfunded proposal for road building here at home, but wants to spend millions building roads and bridges elsewhere. Why is that? The President wiped out the COPS program here at home, and now he wants to pay more than $3 billion for Iraqi law enforcement. Why is that?”