ackerman, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes. mr. ackerman: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. ackerman: mr. speaker, the ros-lehtinen substitute is not just a step back in policy. it's a step back in time. it attempts to reinstate the failed bush-cheney-rumsfeld managing the wars in iraq and afghanistan. it gives the president a massive blank check and then walks away from its responsibility as a co-equal branch of government. the ros-lehtinen substitute strips out all policy from the bill. it has no package to encourage to change their behavior. it has no provisions for keeping congress involved in the process. it has no guidance whatsoever for the president about how taxpayer dollars ought to be spent. this is not legislation. this is advocation. as pakistan -- is pakistan cooperating with the u.s. to dismantle nuclear supplier networks? apparently it doesn't matter in the re

ackerman, three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for three minutes. mr. ackerman: i thank the speaker. i rise in strong support of the legislation before us. and i want to thank the chairman for allowing me to work closely on this bill and producing such an excellent piece of legislation. some may be surprised i am in enthusiastic support of this bill to assist pakistan. over the years i have been una shamedly one of the most persistent and aggressive critics of pakistan's government and of the previous administration's policies in dealing with it. and i remain deeply concerned about much of islam ma bad's behavior,--islamia bad's behavior. to the beliefs that india intends to devour pakistan. none of pakistan's governments have demonstrated a persuasive commitment to internal political or economic reform or anything approaching real acceptance of the rule of law. pakistan has been at best an obstreperous partner on the subject of proliferation, and like many i fail

ackerman: thank you, mr. chairman. i rise in strong support of h.r. 2410, the foreign relations authorization act, and i want to commend our chairman, the gentleman from california for his commitment to this legislation which i believe is a reflection of the gentleman's enormous dedication to this institution and its role under the constitution. for many years the foreign relations authorization act has been held hostage to debates about abortion and family planning, to the inability of the other body to get 60 of their members to agree to anything, and to a general feeling that it just wasn't essential to do. the result has been an insidious decay of the effectiveness of our diplomatic capabilities and our capacity to influence events around the world. some might ask, what does this have to do with my constituents and why is it that we have a strong -- why isn't it that we have a strong military to protect us? isn't that their role? the simple answer is that our diplomats and our development professionals are not a lu

inside this paper one of the details is that the iraqi ackerman has declared today a day of sovereignty. the story can be found below the fold on "the washington post," concerning jubilation in iraq six years in three months after the u.s. invasion. it will turn over security to the iraqis. the paper points out that while there are still more than 130,000 remaining troops, patrols by heavily armed soldiers will largely disappear from baghdad and other urban centers. we will get to your phone calls, but first more from dick cheney. yesterday on the radio his interview became the front page of today. here's what he said. >> if i am a great believer in him as he is one of the most confident people i have worked with in my years. what he says concerns. that there still is a continuing problem. he is doing what needs to be done and keeping the u.s. commitment to get out, but it would look like, one might speculate that the insurgents are waiting to launch more attacks as soon as they get an opportunity. i hope that the iraqis can do with it. at some point to have to stand on their own but i

ackerman, and my doubly good friend mr. burton, who was just on the floor of the house who shares with me this commitment to pakistan. mr. speaker, the reason why we must go forward today is for the very reason that our colleagues have been addressing themselves to our colleagues, you will. we have a crisis, a dire crisis in pakistan. there is no time for us to quarrel over what really are minimal differences if you will. right now as we speak, 2.5 million people are homeless. they are fleeing the conflicts in an area that -- area that's been initiated by the pakistani government that's standing not for america but for the freedom of her people. and we must applaud these actions. we must look to the leadership of the president, the leadership of the secretary of state, who has a strong commitment to pakistan and the policy os -- policies of this new government, our government is to recognize pakistan. 1886 is a bill that recognizes comprehensively that we have an equal ally that is fighting against terrorism within their bo

accomplished by the foreign affairs committee of the house, chairman berman and subcommittee chairman ackerman, and say that we did the right thing today. by passing the pakistan enduring assistance and cooperation enhancement act, the american people have made a few more steps toward their own personal security, their own ensuring the security of the homeland and recognizing a long-standing relationship that has had its hills and valleys. many of us don't know the history of other countries and obviously we have our own wonderful history. but interestingly enough, when pakistan was founded by what has been -- a person who has been known to be called dr. j inner, it was founded on principles. we've had a long standing relationship, although it has been uneven. so today we have restored that relationship and i hope pakistani-americans, our own embassy that is here representing pakistan, really realize that we made a strong statement today for the rment, for the relationship of this nation -- respect, for the relationship of this nation. we have in essence put together a document that would epch