mr. chairman , i move to strike the last word . 
mr. chairman , as the daughter of a veteran , 25 years in the army , i want to express my profound respect and appreciation for our brave men and women serving on the ground in iraq . 
they have a very difficult job , and all of us pray for their safe return , and many of us want them home very quickly . 
the administration 's request for an additional $ 82 billion brings the total war funding to nearly $ 300 billion . 
we must continue to ask just where has this money gone ? 
for example , the coalition provisional authority was unable to account for about $ 9 billion , and that is just what we know . 
where did that money go ? 
we deserve to know . 
the american people deserve to know what our tax dollars have paid for . 
did that $ 9 billion go , for example , to protect our troops ? 
we have no idea . 
another important question is , are we safer today than when this war began ? 
the answer is plainly no . 
if one believed the administration , the goal of the war was to prevent weapons of mass destruction from falling into the hands of terrorists and that iraq posed an immediate threat to the united states . 
now it appears that this unnecessary war may have actually increased that threat . 
instead of stopping terrorism , this administration 's policies have allowed it to expand . 
according to the national intelligence council , this administration 's war has turned iraq into a breeding ground for islamic terrorists . 
before the war on iraq , there was no connection , no connection , between saddam hussein and al qaeda . 
now there is . 
congress requires the administration to give a thorough accounting of how our tax dollars have been spent pursuing these policies in iraq and what the administration 's expectations are for future expenses . 
and despite this law , the administration has flatly refused to make this accounting to us , to the american people , or to determine what the future costs will be . 
we know , however , what has been overlooked . 
there is a documented failure to provide our troops with both body armor and armored vehicles . 
there are documented cases of waste and fraud perpetrated by contractors like halliburton . 
mr. chairman , it is the height of hypocrisy for members of congress to say that they support our troops and then fail to insist on the accountability of how these funds are being spent and whether or not the previous resources allocated were spent to protect our troops . 
if one asks me , the bush administration just wants another blank check . 
no oversight , no accountability , and they have failed to provide a concrete plan for how our troops will stabilize the situation in iraq and to bring our troops home . 
mr. chairman , this administration has much to account for . 
there have been too many blank checks and not enough accountability . 
i will vote against the supplemental and urge my colleagues to do the same . 
