Congressman elect Walz says he'll scrutinize Bush's war request

On the eve of his swearing-in, Rep.-elect Tim Walz said Wednesday that he will review President Bush's $100 billion-plus request to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with a skeptical eye.

"It's pretty disingenuous to say you want a change in Iraq, and you're not willing to ask those hard questions because everyone knows that there's a fear of being painted as not supporting the troops," Walz, D-Minn., said in an interview in his new office.

He spent the day with his six-year-old daughter, who's celebrating her birthday in the nation's capitol and will witness her father taking the oath of office on Thursday.

Walz, an Army National Guard veteran who made a new approach to Iraq a central theme in his congressional campaign, will be sworn in Thursday.

Bush's budget request, to be submitted next month, is expected to pass because members of Congress are reluctant to block money for overseas troops.

But Walz said Democrats can't fall into that trap.

"I know that their fear is, in the next election, that we're going to be painted as not supportive of the troops, and they're going to use that vote against us," he said. "I care about getting re-elected, but I didn't come here to look over my shoulder. I think I was sent here with a message to ask the questions about Iraq. Obviously, that's Congress' main role."

He added: "I know from experience, 24 years of experience in how this works, not all defense appropriations go to protecting soldiers."

Congress has shirked its oversight responsibility the last few years, Walz argued.

"What have we received for our hundreds of billions of dollars?" he asked.

Walz said that he wants to know where every penny of Bush's budget request is going. If the plan calls for spending money in the same way, without accountability, and to support an escalation of troops, Walz said he'd probably vote against it.

"I don't feel locked into voting for every single appropriation for the military, based on what has been spun as, 'If you don't vote for this, you're not supporting the troops,"' he said. "The American public is sick of that. They know that's not true."

Walz said that seems to be a bigger problem for members who never served in the military.

"Those members who didn't serve in the military have every right to question the same way I do," he said. "I don't have any special privilege just because I served in the military."

Walz said that's because he's a firm believer in civilian control of the military.

"I think Congress capitulated that," he said. "I said it during the campaign, and I need to have the courage and will have the courage to say it now."

By Frederic J. Frommer, Associated Press Writer

Check out our KARE family of Web sites:
	takeKARE		Metromix
	Moms Like Me		Minnesota Bound
	Showcase Minnesota