Date: 2007-03-23
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker and Members of the House. I rise in very strong support of this bill. and I want to thank Chairman OBEY and Chairman MURTHA for all of their hard work to put this legislation together. I believe it is time to bring our troops home. to come home from Iraq. and I believe it is time for this Congress to support this legislation. As the American soldiers begin their fifth year in this war of choice in Iraq. we confront the tragic fact that the Bush administrations preparation. planning and execution of this war has not kept faith with the enormous sacrifices our men and women in uniform and their families have made. More than 3.200 American soldiers have died in Iraq. and close to 25.000 more have been seriously wounded. And Iraq is mired in a civil war. with tens of thousands of civilians killed. or even more internally displaced. Hundreds of billions of taxpayers dollars have been squandered in this war that has left our military readiness in jeopardy. the AllVolunteer Army is at a breaking point. and the worlds faith in Americas leadership is gravely shaken. The American people recognize President Bushs approach in Iraq for what it is. a failure. That is why we sent a message to Washington this past November to change the course. to end this war. to get out of Iraq. That is what the American people said in November. Instead. this President. in all of his arrogance and all of his lying. chose to choose a surge. Well. the time is now for the Congress to do something about that because the American people do not support a war in Iraq. and has no end in sight. and continues the tragic. unnecessary loss of life. And given the Presidents unwillingness to change course. it is incumbent upon the Congress to act. With this bill the Democrats in Congress are taking a stand against the President on behalf of the soldiers in this country and the American people. The bill before the House would protect our troops on the battlefield and at home. and require accountability from the Bush administration and the Iraqi Government. and set a responsible timeline for the phased redeployment of U.S: troops with a date certain by September 2008 at the latest. We must support this legislation. And again. I thank the authors of this legislation. I rise in strong support of this bill and I encourage all of my colleagues who believe it is time for our troops to come home from Iraq to support it. As American soldiers begin their fifth year of this war of choice in Iraq. we confront the tragic fact that the Bush Administrations preparation. planning. and execution of this war has not kept faith with the enormous sacrifices our men and women in uniform and their families have made. More than 3.200 American soldiers have died in Iraq and close to 25.000 more have been seriously injured. Iraq is mired in a civil war. with tens of thousands of civilians killed and even more internally displaced. Hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars have been squandered in this war that has left our military readiness in jeopardy. the allvolunteer Army at the breaking point. and the wodds faith in Americas world leadership gravely shaken. The American people recognize President Bushs approach in Iraq for what it isa failure. Thats why they sent a message to Washington this past November to change course. Americans do not support a war in Iraq that has no end in sight and continues the tragic and unnecessary loss of life. Given the Presidents unwillingness to change course. it is incumbent on Congress to act. With this bill. Democrats in Congress are taking a stand against the President but on behalf of our soldiers and the American people. The bill before the House would protect our troops on the battlefield and at home. require accountability from the Bush Administration and the Iraqi government. and set a responsible timeline for a phased redeployment of U.S. troops--with a date certain. by September 2008 at the latest. for U.S. combat troops to be redeployed from Iraq. Adoption of our plan is the answer to Americas plea to bring this war to an end and turn away from the Presidents bottomless commitment to U.S. participation in the Iraqi civil war. Our plan provides a responsible. phased plan for requiring the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future. And voting yes on this bill will clearly show to the American people that a majority in Congress clearly stand with them in their desire to bring an end to the tragic U.S. occupation of Iraq. My colleagues must understand that if they oppose the war. if they oppose spending more money on the war. if they oppose continuing the tragic loss of life in Iraq. then they must support this bill. The only alternative to this bill that could gamer enough votes to pass would be a supplemental appropriations bill to fund the war with no accountability. no timetables. and no end. That is the reality. I know that the majority of the House opposes the continuation of the war. There are differences over strategy. on how best to achieve our goal on behalf of the country. on behalf of the soldiers. and on behalf of their families. Defeating this bill would prolong the war. Defeating this bill would enable the President to continue to his irresponsible and deadly failures. Defeating this bill would send a message to the American people that Congress is not listening to them. The President has run out of excuses for his failures in Iraq. The American people have correctly run out of patience waiting for him to change course. And Americas soldiers have done everything asked of them and everything that could be expected of them. It is time for a new direction. The bill before the House provides a new direction .for America. And it is the only bill that can take us in that direction.