[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 7] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 9466] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]STATEMENT FROM WESLEY E. DAVEY, MASTER SERGEANT IN THE ARMY RETIRED RESERVES ______ HON. BETTY McCOLLUM of minnesota in the house of representatives Friday, May 16, 2008 Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Madam Speaker, while I was back in the Fourth Congressional District of Minnesota, I met with Wes Davey, a constituent and master sergeant in the Army Retired Reserves. He fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom and is concerned about the funding of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As Congress begins to debate providing supplemental appropriations for these wars, I would like to enter Wes's thoughtful words into the Congressional Record. St. Paul, MN, May 2, 2008. Hon. Betty McCollum, Western Avenue North, St. Paul, MN. Dear Representative McCollum: The President has requested additional funding to continue the war in Iraq. Before the members of Congress approve this budget, they should consider doing three things. First, increase taxes in order to at least partially pay for the current and future war funding requests. If these wars are in our national interest as President Bush and others have often told us, we should be willing to pay for them; if these wars are not in our national interest, we should get out of both countries. It is wrong for our generation to pass off the entire Iraq and Afghanistan war debt to the future generations of taxpayers, and it is also wrong for President Bush and Congress to abrogate their fiscal responsibilities and expect future presidents and future members of Congress to sort out the funding mess from these wars. Second, the United States Treasury should sell war bonds (as we did during WW2) to finance the portion of the war costs not funded by increased taxes. We need to stop borrowing money from foreign countries to finance our wars. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and China are not loaning us money because they have America's best interest at heart, and their economic influence in our country is already too great. Third, Congress should set up a government internet website which explains in detail to the American public how the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been and will be financed. More specifically, where the money has come from, be it China, Saudi Arabia, or other countries, how much each foreign country has loaned us, at what interest rates, and exactly when and how those loans will be repaid. Thus far in these wars, President Bush has done his very best to place an opaque window between war funding and the American public, which goes against the belief by the founders of our country that good government should transact its business in the open. Sincerely, Wesley E. Davey. ____________________