[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 319 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 319

 Recognizing March 19, 2008, as the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war 
  and urging President George W. Bush to begin an immediate and safe 
         redeployment of United States Armed Forces from Iraq.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 14, 2008

  Mr. Wexler submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
  referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the 
     Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing March 19, 2008, as the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war 
  and urging President George W. Bush to begin an immediate and safe 
         redeployment of United States Armed Forces from Iraq.

Whereas the Iraq war began on March 19, 2003, when President George W. Bush 
        announced before the entire Nation that ``American and coalition forces 
        are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free 
        its people and to defend the world from grave danger.'';
Whereas March 19, 2008, marks the fifth year of the Iraq war, one of the biggest 
        foreign policy disasters in American history;
Whereas during March 2008, all Americans, including families of members of the 
        United States Armed Forces maimed or killed in Iraq, will reflect, 
        mourn, pray, and hold vigils;
Whereas countless numbers of Americans have been permanently scarred and their 
        lives shattered because of the Iraq war;
Whereas as of January 2, 2008, according to Department of Defense, the United 
        States had 155,846 troops stationed in Iraq--137,709 members of the 
        regular components of the Armed Forces and 18,137 members of the 
        National Guard or Reserves;
Whereas as of March 11, 2008, 3,983 members of the United States Armed Forces 
        have died since the beginning of the Iraq war, according to the Iraq 
        Coalition Casualty Count;
Whereas of March 1, 2008, over 39,000 members of the United States Armed Forces 
        have been permanently maimed or injured, according to the United States 
        Department of Defense;
Whereas Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, along with co-author 
        Harvard professor Linda Bilmes, concludes in his book ``The Three 
        Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict'' that the Iraq 
        war will cost American taxpayers at least three trillion dollars;
Whereas, according to Mr. Stiglitz and Ms. Bilmes, ``U.S. military operations in 
        Iraq already have exceeded the cost of the 12-year war in Vietnam and is 
        more than double the cost of the Korean Conflict.'';
Whereas, according to the Iraq Body Count (IBC), approximately 89,300 Iraqi 
        civilians have been killed since the beginning of the Iraq war, although 
        some independent estimates suggest Iraq civilian deaths to be in the 
        hundreds of thousands;
Whereas, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency and the International 
        Organization for Migration, in 2007 almost 5 million Iraqis had been 
        displaced by violence in their country, the vast majority of whom have 
        fled since 2003;
Whereas March 19, 2008, marks the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war which has no 
        end in sight under the failed leadership of President Bush;
Whereas the Iraq war has severely compromised United States efforts to 
        effectively fight the war on terrorism and irreparably damaged our 
        Nation's credibility globally;
Whereas the Iraq war has left Americans less safe, has cost over $500 billion, 
        and has embroiled our brave troops in an unwinnable and deadly sectarian 
        war;
Whereas thousands of members of the United States Armed Forces who were sent 
        into Iraq without adequate body armor or armored vehicles for five years 
        are now on their second or third 15-month rotation;
Whereas 5 years after the start of the Iraq war, too many members of the United 
        States Armed Forces returning home are still not receiving adequate 
        health care or effective psychiatric care;
Whereas President Bush is unwilling to ``change course'' in Iraq despite the 
        long-term impact of his policies on American national security or the 
        urgent need for America to address a resurgent Al Qaeda in Afghanistan 
        and Pakistan;
Whereas President Bush and his Administration continue to carelessly spend 
        billions of dollars a month in Iraq, diverting critically needed funding 
        for health care, education, strengthening the Nation's bridges and 
        infrastructure, and assisting Americans coping with an economic 
        recession;
Whereas the coalition of the willing has dwindled in Iraq, millions of Iraqis 
        remain internally and externally displaced, and the Iraqi people have 
        said unequivocally in poll after poll that they want United States 
        troops out of their country;
Whereas the Bush Administration's ``surge'' policy has failed to bring political 
        stability to Iraq and lasting reconciliation between ethnic groups;
Whereas on March 13, 2008, General David H. Petraeus, the top United States 
        commander in Iraq, when asked in an interview about the success of the 
        ``surge'' in Iraq, stated ``No one feels that there has been sufficient 
        progress by any means in the area of national reconciliation.'';
Whereas the Bush Administration is currently negotiating a status of forces 
        agreement with the Iraqi Government that would keep United States Armed 
        Forces in Iraq for the foreseeable future;
Whereas on May 1, 2007, President Bush vetoed the U.S. Troop Readiness, 
        Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations 
        Act, 2007 (H.R. 1591), which would have set a date to begin withdrawing 
        United States Armed Forces from Iraq;
Whereas after 5 disastrous years, it is time for United States troops to 
        immediately and safely redeploy from Iraq; and
Whereas instead of marking another Iraq war anniversary on March 19, 2009, it is 
        time for the United States Congress to end America's involvement in Iraq 
        by withholding additional funding for the war: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) recognizes and honors the heroic sacrifice of the brave 
        members of the United States Armed Forces and their families on 
        the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war;
            (2) urges President George W. Bush not to enter into any 
        long-term United States-Iraq strategic agreement without the 
        approval of Congress;
            (3) urges President Bush to begin an immediate and safe 
        redeployment of United States Armed Forces from Iraq; and
            (4) urges President Bush to live up to his responsibilities 
        and adequately provide health care assistance to United States 
        troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
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