Wis. in Washington: Green felt safe in Iraq By Morgan Felchner News-Chronicle WASHINGTON - Back from his trip to Iraq for less than 24 hours, U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Green Bay, was still feeling the jet lag, but said he felt a "tremendous sense of pride" for the troops and was humbled by the men and women who are serving. Green was in Iraq the day the Red Cross was bombed, and the morning after the hotel that held Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was hit by rockets. Despite the violence, Green said he saw progress and felt safe. Green said three themes will stay with him from the trip. First, he was "pleasantly surprised by the hustle and bustle of civilian activity." "If you were to believe only what you saw on national news you would think it was a ghost town. The streets are busy with cars and people are going on about their lives," Green said. Second, Green said he was impressed with the reconstruction work done by U.S. soldiers with the Iraqi people. And third, since Green was in Iraq the during a time of escalated violence, he said was surprised by the reactions of Iraqi people and U.S. soldiers. "I was impressed at how it didn't stop life from going on for Iraqis and impressed with the resolve of our soldiers," he said. Although troops want to go home, Green said morale is high and they don't want to leave until the job is done. "The morale was good and again everyone was quick to say, 'we understand the mission, we support it and we are not going to be deterred,'" Green said. Security for troops and U.S. officials like the Congressional delegation Green traveled with has been questioned in the wake of attacks. Green said he felt safe. "I never felt at risk, what we were doing is a walk in the park compared to what the troops are doing," he said. As for the pending $87 billion supplemental Green is confident he made the right choice in voting for it. "I thought my vote in favor was the right vote before I went, I am absolutely 100 percent convinced of it now," he said. Sen. Erpenbach goes to Washington State Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, held a fund-raiser in Washington on Wednesday. Although the invitation boasted the attendance of five Wisconsin Democrats, only U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, and U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, attended. No speeches were given because the crowd was relatively small - around 30 people - and the representatives spent time mingling. California governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger held a fund-raiser in the same building and sources say although 500 name tags were printed. about 100 people showed up, so Erpenbach's 30 was a good showing. This week in Congress Although many Congressman are hoping to adjourn for the year soon, the Senate still has four appropriations bills to pass before that can happen. This week the Senate will work on passing the four outstanding bills, Department of Agriculture, Departments of Commerce, Justice and State, District of Columbia and Veterans Affairs, Department of Housing and Urban Development. Today the Senate will likely give final approval to the $87 billion supplemental appropriation for continuing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and the bill will be sent, without loans, to President Bush for his signature. Felchner, the Washington correspondent for WisPolitics.com, is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the associate editor of Campaigns and Elections magazine. She can be reached at [email protected].