LARSON STATEMENT ON FINAL PASSAGE OF $87 BILLION IRAQ SUPPLEMENTAL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 17, 2003

LARSON STATEMENT ON FINAL PASSAGE OF $87 BILLION IRAQ SUPPLEMENTAL

WASHINGTON, D.C.- U.S. Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01) today issued this statement following the passage of supplemental appropriations legislation, H.R.3289, funding the President's request for an additional $87 billion for U.S. operations in Iraq. Larson voted against the measure, which passed the House by a vote of 303-125.

"The failed policies of preemption and unilateralism have placed us in quagmire we are currently experiencing in Iraq and we now find the administration in the position seeking $87 billion in additional funding from the American taxpayer for continuing operations in Iraq.

"Our military has performed extraordinarily well and there was never any question as to who would win the war in Iraq, but it is obvious that there was no clearly thought-out plan for winning the peace.

"The administration has not accounted for the billions it has already spent and is now asking for another $87 billion that it will not clearly account for. Most alarming, they will not even level with our own troops as to the length of their deployment. When parents of our troops have to purchase body armor for their own children because the military is short vests, there is something very wrong.

"The four amendments that I proposed sought to find a better way to protect our troops, pay for this legislation and to gain answers on these issues. They were all blocked from being voted on because they were considered out of order, but what is really out of order is this administration's go-it-alone strategy in Iraq. I cannot vote for a bill that amounts to a blank check, allowing the administration to remain unaccountable to the troops and their families, the Congress, and the American people when it comes to the length of deployments, the total cost to American taxpayers and the lack of international support for this effort," said Larson.

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Congressman Larson is a Member of the Armed Services Committee