[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 82 (Monday, June 20, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H4788-H4789]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           OUT OF IRAQ CAUCUS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I come this evening to further announce to 
the people of this Nation that we have formed an Out of Iraq Caucus 
here in the Congress of the United States of America.
  There has been quite a bit of debate this weekend about the 
activities that took place here in Congress. There was a lot of 
discussion this weekend about the hearing that was held right here in 
the basement of the Capitol headed by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Conyers) in conjunction with a group that is now known as 
AfterDowningStreet.org. And that hearing helped to give exposure to the 
famous, now famous, infamous memorandum that basically some see as a 
smoking gun, discussing who knew what, when did they know it, and what 
did they plan to do.
  In essence, it is easy to conclude reading that memorandum that this 
administration, the President of the United States of America and 
others, had decided that they were going into Iraq, that they were 
going to attack Saddam Hussein long before 9/11. So that hearing took 
place, and it was a very interesting one.
  It was a very revealing one and over 30 Members of Congress joined in 
the basement in this crowded room. And I have had a lot of questions 
this weekend about why were we jammed into such a small room, and I had 
to answer truthfully and let the people who asked the question know 
that the Republicans are in charge. They are able to determine where we 
meet, if we can meet, what kind of space we will have. And they have 
said to us, they are going to stop allowing us to use any committee 
rooms. And so even though it was a very small room, it was all that we 
could get. But, of course, those who have the power can choose to use 
it responsibly or irresponsibly.
  And I would say to the people of this country at this time that we 
will be thwarted in our efforts to get the word out, to have this kind 
of discussion; but we will persist, we will not give up.
  Further, aside from that hearing, we did form the Out of Iraq Caucus. 
Over 60 Members have now signed up. And I am being asked by journalists 
and TV personalities, what happened? Why are you having this discussion 
and this debate that is occurring at this time?

                              {time}  2030

  I must answer those questions by saying, first of all, we have 
Members of Congress who were elected by their constituents on peace, 
justice and equality issue. We have Members of Congress who have long 
histories fighting and agitating for peace. Whether you talk about the 
Vietnam War or the work that many of us did to end apartheid in South 
Africa or the work that we are doing now to try to bring attention to 
genocide in Sudan, this is who we are. This is what we do.
  Philosophically, we cannot sit here and allow this war to continue 
with no

[[Page H4789]]

exit strategy, no answers, no reports from the President of the United 
States about how they are really going to get the training done, what 
does that mean and basically when are we going to bring our troops 
home.
  So we have joined with the American public. The American public have 
been waiting on us. They are against this war. The polls now are 
showing us that the American public wants this war to end, and so we 
have joined with them to provide some leadership.
  Our caucus is made up of an array of Democrats, some who come from 
the New Democrats, some from the Blue Dog Democrats, some from the 
Progressive Democrats, but we have come together to talk about 
coordinating activities, helping to give a platform to this discussion, 
to work with the national peace organizations, to bring in people who 
have been trying to get to Congress but since we have no hearings that 
are going on, they have not been able to connect with anybody. We are 
going to connect with them, whether they are veterans against this war 
or mothers and fathers and family members who have had their children 
and relatives killed in this war. They are now going to have Members to 
talk to.
  We are going to create this discussion and this debate, and some 
people are saying out now. Some people are saying, Mr. President, give 
us a strategy. Some people are trying to come up with a date certain.
  We have a bipartisan effort that has been put together with a date 
certain attached to it. As far as our caucus is concerned, people see 
it a little bit differently, whether or not out now, whether or not we 
just beg the President to give us a strategy or whether or not we 
insist on a date certain. The most important thing is we are all 
organized just to get the word out. We want out of Iraq.
  This thing will evolve, and as it evolves, we will know what the 
right timing is. The President will have an opportunity now, given that 
he has seen the polls and he understands what is going on, he can 
denounce it or reject it in any way that he wants, but the fact of the 
matter is the people of this country want us out. The new caucus that I 
am so proud of that we have formed will work to make sure that we have 
the debate that we have not had.

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