Madam Speaker, this Emergency Supplemental bill presents the House with two very distinct amendments — and two very separate decisions.
The first amendment we are being asked to consider would provide $165.4 billion for the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. My position on the war in Iraq is clear. I believe the decision to invade Iraq was a mistake. And I simply cannot support giving this President a blank check to further mishandle our involvement in Iraq. Because this amendment does not include the conditions that were contained in the bill that the House passed, I will be voting no on this portion of the Supplemental today.
While I oppose this war, I have nothing but admiration and gratitude for our fellow citizens who choose to serve this nation in uniform. It is in large measure because of my respect for their honorable service that I will be proud to support the second amendment before us today.
A centerpiece of this second amendment is a GI Bill for the 21st century. Just as a grateful nation expanded opportunities for GIs returning home from World War II over sixty years ago, so now must our generation invest in our soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan so that they can get a four-year college education. We have an obligation to invest in their future.
With the nation’s economy slowing, and our unemployment rate on the rise, this second amendment also appropriately includes a 13-week extension in unemployment benefits to sustain our fellow citizens and their families as they continue to look for work.
I am particularly pleased that this amendment places a moratorium on six Medicaid regulations that had threatened to cut needed services to those who rely on them — and that we have moved quickly to provide over $2.65 billion in disaster relief to assist in the recovery efforts after the tornadoes and flooding in the Midwest.
Finally, we can be proud that this amendment invests $550 million in critical scientific research to expand our medical knowledge, improve our energy efficiency and enhance our global competitiveness — including a $150 million investment in the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a $150 million for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), $62.5 million for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, $62.5 million for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and $62.5 million for the National Science Foundation (NSF).
For these reasons, this second amendment is exceptionally worthy of our support, and I yield back the balance of my time.