Media

Facts About the Cost of the War in Iraq to Our Troops

Next week, General David Petraeus and Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker will testify before Congress about the Iraq war. As many media reports have made apparent, the intention of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker next week is simply to announce a continuation of the current strategy -- the decision to maintain at least 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq indefinitely was made weeks ago.

The Administration's response to the housing crisis should have been more rapid and more comprehensive. I urge President Bush to work with the Senate and change his approach to this crisis by appointing a new HUD Secretary who will aggressively address urgent housing issues in America, including the foreclosure crisis. In the coming days, HUD will be called upon to work with Congress on several initiatives, including assisting borrowers who face imminent foreclosure to refinance into loans that they can afford to repay.

While Secretary Paulson's plan to restructure regulation of the financial markets is a step in the right direction, we need to go further; we must take steps now to provide help to families who are hurting. Congressional Democrats support Chairman Barney Frank's proposed reforms to help millions of Americans avoid foreclosure, and restore stability to our financial markets. We look forward to working with the Administration as we move forward.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admits 'We don't have troops...ready to go' to fight the war in Afghanistan

This morning, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen joined the ranks of military leaders who have admitted that because of the war in Iraq, the U.S. is unable to dedicate the necessary number of troops to fight al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.