Washington, DC- Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a Member of the Out-of-Iraq Caucus and a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement at a press conference highlighting the cost of the war as American’s file their taxes:

 “As tax day approaches, millions of Americans know their tax dollars will have been wasted in Iraq instead of rebuilding America. Under the Bush Administration, the use of no-bid contacts has doubled. The Defense Contract Audit Agency believes there have been more than $10 billion in questionable or unsupported costs in Iraq contracts.

  “Americans have already spent $44 billion rebuilding Iraq and the war costs our nation $10.3 billion a month, or about $4,000 a second.  In fact, the typical American taxpayer’s entire federal tax bill pays for less than one-half of one second of what we’re spending on the war in Iraq.

 “In addition to the war in Iraq, the American people have been badly damaged by Republican tax policies. For six years, Republicans offered tax cuts to the well off, refused to close corporate tax loopholes and even defended multi-billion dollar tax subsidies for big oil companies.

 “Ever since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the U.S. military has been focused on the Iraq conflict and this conflict has absorbed the vast majority of the war-related appropriations sought by the Administration.  As a result, the war in Afghanistan and the efforts to completely defeat al Qaeda and the Taliban have taken a backseat.

 “On my recent Congressional Delegation to the Middle East, I received an assessment of the Iraq war from General David Petraeus and U.S Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker. I also had the opportunity to meet with and to honor our brave men and women in uniform on the 5th anniversary of this war.

 “It was an honor to be in the company of our brave men and women in Iraq and a privilege to meet with General Patraeus. However, the continual loss of lives among US troops in the region is of great concern. 

 “That is why I have introduced legislative H.R. 930, the ‘Military Success in Iraq and Diplomatic Surge for National and Political Reconciliation in Iraq Act of 2007’ in Congress. This legislation recognizes the extraordinary performance of the Armed Forces in achieving the military objectives of the United States in Iraq. It also calls for a diplomatic surge to bring about national and political reconciliation. Additionally it provides for an orderly redeployment out of the region.

 “Today, I renew my commitment to making sure our troops return home safely and we properly honor them for their bravery by making sure that we hold the Bush Administration accountable for irresponsible spending in the Iraq War.” 

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