mr. chairman , i reluctantly voted against this supplemental , not because there are n't many important items included in it , but because a `` no '' vote is one of the few things in my power to signal my deep opposition to the administration 's policy in iraq . 
at its core , this bill gives too much money to the wrong people to do the wrong thing . 
as i made clear from the beginning of this war the administration continues to have no plan for success in iraq . 
they have no blueprint for winning the peace and have not even adequately protected our troops in harm 's way . 
i fully support the assistance to the tsunami-affected region , and hope it will be used wisely for recovery , reconstruction , and mitigation of future disasters . 
while we can not prevent natural events such as floods , mudslides , volcanic eruptions , earthquakes , or tsunamis , we can reduce or mitigate their devastating impacts by helping communities to rebuild in safer locations , construct sturdier dwellings , and enhance natural ecosystems that mitigate the impact of these natural disasters . 
i am pleased to see that there is funding to provide additional armor for our troops and vehicles in iraq . 
i hope that they will use the funding provided by congress to give our troops the protection that they need . 
an amendment that i offered with mr. markey to prohibit funds for torture and for sending detainees to countries that practice torture passed . 
the use of torture and rendition is morally reprehensible , puts americans at risk , is a poor way to obtain reliable information in our fight against terrorism , and sets back the cause of democracy . 
this is the very least that we can do as congress continues to abdicate its responsibility to investigate this horrific aspect of administration policy . 
regardless of the merits , everyone should be troubled by the use of supplemental legislation to pay for regular military action in iraq and afghanistan . 
funding these operations outside of the regular budgeting process limits our ability for effective oversight and distorts the true budget picture . 
the rules committee burdened this legislation with all the flaws of h.r. 418 , the `` real id act , '' which , among other things , placed the entire 7 , 514 mile border completely outside all legal protections . 
this is perhaps the most damaging single precedent since i 've been in congress . 
