mr. chairman , i rise in strong support of the supplemental appropriations bill , and i thank the gentleman from california ( mr. lewis )  for yielding me time .  i want to commend the gentleman for putting together what i believe is an excellent bill and for his leadership in reviewing each single element of the administration 's request .  the subcommittee on transportation , treasury , and hud that i chair has mostly technical items in this supplemental that are not controversial , so i would like to focus my comments on the overall bill .  in the past few months , we have seen an extraordinary progress in iraq and in the middle east at large .  from the historic iraqi elections , the new palestinian leadership , voting in saudi arabia , and massive demonstrations in lebanon against their syrian occupiers , i believe that these events show major positive changes that can come to this part of the world .  we must maintain that momentum , and that is what this bill does .  by passing this legislation , we will keep our soldiers in iraq fully equipped as they continue their daunting task in maintaining security and training iraqis to take over those functions .  the funding included in this bill to secure a new united states embassy will help get us out of the palaces that we currently occupy .  we will provide much-needed assistance to afghanistan in its efforts to become more secure , restrict the drug trade , and develop its economy .  this is a good bill , and it deserves our support .  i would like to comment specifically on one part of the supplemental that i know many of us are concerned about , and that is the $ 200 million to aid the palestinian authority .  the palestinians have an opportunity to get their house in order , and we should help them .  prime minister abbas and finance minister fayyad are the right people for their jobs , but we all know that the palestinian authority still needs a great deal of reform , and we need to be careful about how we provide money to help the palestinians .  that is why under the direction and leadership of the gentleman from arizona ( mr. kolbe )  , we included specific conditions for how this money can be used .  we maintain the prohibition on direct assistance to the palestinian authority .  we require the administration to provide a comprehensive report on the steps taken by the palestinian authority on good governance , economic reforms , and dismantling the terrorist organizations .  and we require an audit of the palestinian authority 's financial structures .  providing this money sends an important signal that the u.s. is prepared to help the palestinians .  including the appropriate conditions sends an equally important signal that the palestinian authority has expectations that must be met .  the committee should be commended for handling this issue in a balanced and effective way ; and i urge everyone , obviously , to support it .  mr. chairman , again i say , this is a good bill , it is a necessary bill , and i urge again all of my colleagues to support it .  