[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 156 (Wednesday, December 7, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2471]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             LET'S GET SERIOUS ABOUT SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 7, 2005

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, today's actions are a shameful disservice 
both to our soldiers in Iraq and to Americans here at home. Republicans 
are denying the Nation an open debate on the war in Iraq. On tonight's 
agenda, the Republicans not only have replaced Mr. Murtha's resolution 
on Iraq with H.R. 571, a perversion of the Murtha Resolution that 
Representative Hunter introduced, and which in no way conveys the 
sentiment of Representative Murtha's proposal. They also have had the 
temerity to characterize it as a ``Democratic proposal.''
  Representative Murtha's Resolution states that, ``The deployment of 
U.S. forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and 
the forces are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date.'' It 
also provides for deploying a contingency capability outside of Iraq, 
and requires America to pursue security and stability in Iraq through 
diplomacy. The Republican legislation contains none of this language.
  I am a member of the ``Out of Iraq Caucus'' because I believe we 
should bring our troops home from Iraq as soon as practicably possible, 
as does Representative Murtha. The citizens of this country deserve to 
have a true floor debate on why this is right and on how best to do it. 
Then their Representatives owe them an up or down vote on this issue. 
Mr. Murtha's speech should open serious hearings on the issue, followed 
by extensive debate on our policy in Iraq.
  Mr. Speaker, to paraphrase FDR: Tonight it's clear that the only 
thing the Bush White House has to fear is public debate itself.
  It is the height of hypocrisy for the Republican leadership to 
schedule a sudden, strait-jacketed mini-debate and vote on their 
version of Mr. Murtha's resolution. To understand this hypocrisy its 
necessary to put their deceit in context.

  The House Majority Leadership has consistently refused to allow the 
House to debate H.J. Res. 55, an earlier bill offered by 63 House 
members in a bipartisan fashion. It would require the President to set 
forth a plan for withdrawal from Iraq and to begin to implement it next 
fall. The Republican Leadership has stonewalled efforts to have this 
bill considered in committee and brought to the Floor for 
consideration. They have forced us to employ the parliamentary last 
resort of filing a discharge petition, in order to force the Leadership 
to let us debate H.J. Res. 55. The issue before the House at this point 
is not even the merits of that resolution. Instead, it is preservation 
of the basic democratic process and the ability of the public to hear 
debate on the most pressing issue facing this country.
  Now, in a 180 degree reversal, the Leadership suddenly wants an 
abbreviated debate on our policy for ending President Bush's disaster 
in Iraq. Why this bizarre turn-around, Mr. Speaker? The answer is 
simple. Mr. Murtha, the Ranking Member of the Defense Appropriations 
Subcommittee yesterday struck fear in the Leadership and the White 
House with his statement of plain truths. Because of his stature in 
this body, the gentlemen from Pennsylvania, with that single speech, 
shredded the White House's defense of its flawed policies.
  Until now, the President and Vice President have relied on 
questioning the patriotism of their critics on Iraq. They have hidden 
behind the claim that--any critics of their war do not support our 
troops and do not respect our troops' sacrifices. They have repeated 
that outrageous mantra over and over, most disgracefully in President 
Bush's remarks on Veterans Day.
  Those false claims to discredit critics were demolished in one stroke 
by Mr. Murtha's statement. The White House knows full well:
  that there is no more patriotic Member of this House,
  that there is no Member who loves our troops more,
  that there is no Member who has supported our troops more, and
  that there is no Member who has served in our military more bravely 
than Mr. Murtha.
  The White House political spinners also realize that the American 
people are disgusted when attacks on a patriot like Mr. Murtha are made 
by elected officials in the White House who sought to evade military 
service in time of war. So now they resort to this sleazy tactic. They 
pretend to have the Nation consider the issues raised by Mr. Murtha's 
candid analysis, but in reality they seek to sweep those powerful 
remarks under the rug.
  Then they will pretend that the Congress has seriously considered the 
tragic issues of life and death and claim that this steam-rollered vote 
reflects the fully-informed, considered opinion of our constituents. 
That's nonsense.
  This is a disgrace to the House, and more important, it's a disgrace 
to all that our men and women in Iraq are fighting and dying for. The 
American people and our soldiers deserve better than this cheap trick. 
To those across the aisle who want to prevent the American people from 
learning the awful truths about Iraq and who seek to stifle real 
national debate, there is only one thing to say: ``Shame on you.''
  Mr. Hunter's charade should be defeated.

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