Mr. President, I have an amendment that is pending. The distinguished majority leader will make the decision as to what votes are going to occur on Monday evening. I want to get my debate out of the way, hoping this amendment, which is…
Mr. President, I have an amendment that is pending. The distinguished majority leader will make the decision as to what votes are going to occur on Monday evening. I want to get my debate out of the way, hoping this amendment, which is probably germane postcloture-- maybe we could do it at that time and get it over with.
Over this past recess I had the good fortune to travel to the Middle East. I visited Nevada troops in Kuwait before they went to Iraq. It was a great trip for me, one I will never forget. But I saw firsthand what has been accomplished in the face of very difficult and dangerous conditions in Iraq. I was also able to see that every American should be very proud of the unheralded service these courageous service men and women perform each day.
The 1864th Transportation Unit from Nevada hauls the goods from Kuwait to Iraq. This is where we hear about some vehicles needing more armor. These vehicles need more armor, but when they get an order they get in the truck and off they go, men and women.
I also received briefings on the status of our efforts to secure and rebuild Iraq. During a helicopter flight over Baghdad, it was very clear that big city one time was in shambles. The process of rebuilding Iraq has started, thanks to generous assistance of the U.S. taxpayers, but a lot of it doesn't show.
The amendment I offer today seeks to honor the sacrifices of our troops and taxpayers on behalf of the Iraqi people and ensures that other nations of the world keep their commitment in this worthwhile effort.
I want to spend a few minutes discussing the details of what we and other nations around the world are doing to secure and rebuild Iraq.
Presently, there are more than 150,000 Coalition troops in Iraq. More than 130,000 of them are Americans, such as the 1864th I saw in Kuwait that drives on a continual basis into the middle of Iraq.
Since the beginning of this war, more than half a million U.S. military personnel have served in Iraq. The story is remarkable. It is remarkable because it is similar to the international effort to rebuild Iraq.
While this Nation has appropriated more than $20 billion in direct assistance for Iraqi reconstruction, the rest of the world combined has produced about half of that. When I say ``produced,'' it is only in talk. Even more startling is the fact that the vast majority of the commitments made by these other countries have been in the form of loans and credits rather than hard cash such as we have provided. In short, this Nation has done more than its fair share to secure and rebuild Iraq.
As I noted at the outset, it was clear from my recent trip that a great deal more needs to be done in construction, and that is an understatement. We are not as far along as the administration promised we would be at this point of the conflict; and the cost to the U.S. taxpayers of our country for operations in Iraq has far exceeded the estimates the administration provided us prior to the start of this war.
The failure of the international community to keep its commitment is one reason why reconstruction developments in Iraq have not proceeded as they should. According to the State Department's sixth quarterly report, the international community has actually delivered only $1 billion of the $13.5 billion promised.
As for the cost to the U.S. taxpayers of the Iraq reconstruction, administration officials declared that Iraq itself could cover a substantial portion of these costs. Shortly after the war started, Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz told the House Budget Committee, ``There's lots of money to pay for this. It doesn't have to be U.S. taxpayer money. We are dealing with a country that can easily finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon.'' U.S. AID Director Andrew Natsios was even more explicit in his statement nearly a month later:
The rest of the rebuilding of Iraq will be done by other
countries who have already made pledges, Britain, Germany,
Norway, Japan, Canada, and Iraqi oil revenues, eventually in
several years, when it's up and running and there's a new
government that's been democratically elected, will finish
the job with their own revenues. They're going to get in $20
billion a year in oil revenues. But the American part of this
will be $1.7 billion. We have no plans for any further-on
funding for this.
I think it's fair for the American people to ask why the Iraq reconstruction has not proceeded as promised by this administration? Why, when the United States military and our taxpayers have done so much, the international community has done so little, failing to keep even its relatively modest reconstruction commitment? Any why have the administration's statements that the people of Iraq and other nations would cover the bulk of that country's reconstruction costs proven to be so wrong?
I think it is time we restored some equity, fairness, and shared sacrifice with other nations on the reconstruction efforts.
I haven't talked about the deaths of our soldiers, the sacrifices they have made being wounded. I am talking today only about money. The commitment other countries have made has been very small in actual personnel, very large in talk and very short in dollars. and our taxpayers have more than lived up to their commitment to the people of Iraq. It's long past time that the rest of the world do the same. That's what my amendment seeks to do.
My amendment is quite straightforward. This amendment does not affect roughly $17 billion of the $20 billion that Congress has appropriated for Iraq reconstruction assistance. the administration is free to do with that
amount as they see fit and when they see fit.
And it gives the President two clear options that he could take to gain access to the remaining $3 billion.
First, the President can easily gain unfettered access to the remaining funds by merely certifying that other nations who have made financial commitments to help Iraq at the Madrid Donor's Conference and in other donor meetings since 2003 have fulfilled those commitments.
Second, if the President is unable to make that certification, this amendment provides him with yet another way to gain access to and spend the remaining funds we have appropriated. he can simply certify to the Congress that: No. 1, his representatives have made a good faith effort to persuade other nations to follow through on their previous financial commitments to Iraq; No. 2, the sale of Iraqi oil or other Iraqi sources of revenue should not be used to reimburse the United States Government for our reconstruction assistance; and No. 3, despite the failure of these other nations to live up to their financial promises and the inability of Iraq to reimburse us for a significant portion of our reconstruction costs, continued American spending on Iraqi reconstruction is in the national security interests of the United States.
These are very simple, clear and straightforward certifications. The amendment does not require others to pay for U.S. military operations, nor does it seek to shut down the reconstruction process.
I recall what the military commanders on the ground have said about the importance of delivering reconstruction aid as a means of putting a dent into the insurgency. As the former Commander of the First Calvary in Baghdad often talked about, where reconstruction efforts were successful and where the citizens had power, clean water and basic services, the attacks against American forces went down.
Let us be clear. I am not arguing against continuing to help the Iraqi people with the reconstruction of their country. I am not in favor of putting insurmountable hurdles in front of the President as he seeks to carry out these efforts.
Rather, I am simply saying that in light of all that America's troops and taxpayers have done for the people of Iraq and the world, it seems only reasonable to expect that other nations will live up to their commitments and that this administration would want to hold them accountable.
We should be looking for ways to strengthen the President's negotiating hand when dealing with these other countries, and that's what this amendment does.
Passing this amendment gives the President greater leverage in getting other nations to follow through on their previous commitments. The President can cite this Congressional action, highlight the fact that the Congress is closely monitoring the international contributions coming into Iraq, and let them know that there is growing concern in the Congress about their inability to live up to their past promises.
For those who argue that passing this amendment will slow down the reconstruction, nothing could be further from the truth. As I've already stated, the State Department and AID cannot spend the money they already have.
Through six quarterly reports, the U.S. has spent only $4.209 billion in Iraq, an average of $701.5 million per quarter. At this rate, it will take over 5 years for all the money to be spent.
In other words, at the current pace, the Bush administration would be over before we would spend their reconstruction money that we have already provided last year.
If this amendment passes, the reconstruction money will flow unaffected for many years, perhaps through the end of President Bush's term. At that point, he or a future President merely needs to issue a certification to ensure the continued flow of the money.
Iraq needs to become the world's concern, not strictly our concern. We owe that to our soldiers and to the American taxpayers who have been both patient and generous and have borne an unusually high burden. If you want to support the troops, our taxpayers, and give the administration the leverage to get the rest of the world to live up to their commitments, this amendment should be supported.
highways
Briefly, we need to a highway bill. We have received all kinds of letters from different entities saying we must do a highway bill. According to a report by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials, the uncertainty caused by the short-term extensions to the surface transportation program has cost billions of dollars in project delays and thousand and thousands of jobs. This is an alarm.
I have letters from over 20 groups ranging from state and local governments to major trade associations, all urging immediate consideration of this important bill. When we finish the supplemental, I urge the majority leader to move forward on the highway bill.
Yesterday, Senators Baucus, Inouye, Jeffords, Sarbanes, and I sent a letter to the majority leader requesting that he bring the surface transportation reauthorization bill to the floor for consideration prior to the completion of this April work period. I hope we can do that. It is so important.
Senator Baucus and Senator Bond, the people leading that subcommittee, have done a wonderful job. We have a bill ready to go. I hope we can do that soon.
I ask unanimous consent a letter from 18 trade associations be printed in the Record in addition to a letter from virtually all State and local government organizations, the National Governors Association, and the letter I previously mentioned from the Democratic leaders.