[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 154 (Friday, November 18, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H11029]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       STANDING TOGETHER FOR A SOLUTION TO BRING OUR TROOPS HOME

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to 
take my Special Order at this time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized until midnight.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this was a day when many of us 
had wished that we could have taken a very serious step toward 
redeploying our troops and bringing them home. I believe it is very 
important to speak to the American people for this brief moment by 
telling them of a story of a young woman I saw in a hospital in Germany 
who had just been shipped from Iraq. She was burned from head to toe. 
She laid in a hospital bed; and, yes, as a soldier, she was valiant and 
courageous, and her only concern was for her mother.
  I use that example because we have heard it on the floor tonight, how 
our soldiers want to go back into battle and how our soldiers want us 
to have the resolve to stay the course.
  But, Mr. Speaker, it is our responsibility as Members of Congress and 
policymakers whenever we send our soldiers into battle, we must send 
them for the right reasons.
  We heard tonight that the American intelligence did not prove there 
were weapons of mass destruction, in fact, there were none; that the 
troops are in fact fodder for the insurgents, and health care is no 
longer promised to our soldiers coming home; that we are now sending 
troops that are at the C-4 level, the lowest state of readiness; 50,000 
may suffer from battle fatigue. It is important that we stand together 
for a solution to bring our troops home.
  I voted ``no'' against the Hunter resolution because it was not a 
serious debate. It was not a serious statement to our soldiers, and I 
want them to know that I am willing to stay the course, but I want them 
to come home, and I want them to come home now with a plan. And a plan 
has been offered by Mr. Murtha in H.J. Res. 73, a plan that suggests 
that the troops should be in a small number in the region, but our 
troops in large numbers should come home from Iraq. We must turn the 
government of Iraq over to Iraq.
  This is the debate we should have:

                              H.J. Res.___

     To Redeploy U.S. Forces from Iraq.

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 17, 2005

    Mr. Murtha introduced the following joint resolution, which was 
                 referred to the Committee on_________

       Whereas Congress and the American People have not been 
     shown clear, measurable progress toward establishment of 
     stable and improving security in Iraq or of a stable and 
     improving economy in Iraq, both of which are essential to 
     ``promote the emergence of a democratic government'';
       Whereas additional stabilization in Iraq by U.S. military 
     forces cannot be achieved without the deployment of hundreds 
     of thousands of additional U.S. troops, which in turn cannot 
     be achieved without a military draft;
       Whereas more than $277 billion has been appropriated by the 
     United States Congress to prosecute U.S. military action in 
     Iraq and Afghanistan;
       Whereas, as of the drafting of this resolution, 2,079 U.S. 
     troops have been killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom;
       Whereas U.S. forces have become the target of the 
     insurgency;
       Whereas, according to recent polls, over 80 percent of the 
     Iraqi people want the U.S. forces out of Iraq;
       Whereas polls also indicate that 45 percent of the Iraqi 
     people feel that the attacks on U.S. forces are justified;
       Whereas, due to the foregoing, Congress finds it evident 
     that continuing U.S. military action in Iraq is not in the 
     best interests of the United States of America, the people of 
     Iraq, or the Persian Gulf Region, which were cited in Public 
     Law 107-243 as justification for undertaking such action;
       Therefore be it
       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled,
       That:
       Section 1. The deployment of United States forces in Iraq, 
     by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and the forces 
     involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable 
     date.
       Sec. 2. A quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon 
     presence of U.S. Marines shall be deployed in the region.
       Sec. 3. The United States of America shall pursue security 
     and stability in Iraq through diplomacy.

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