[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 14, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H2490-H2491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRESS CANNOT AFFORD TO GIVE THE PRESIDENT ANOTHER BLANK CHECK ON 
                                IRAQ WAR

  (Mr. PERLMUTTER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. PERLMUTTER. Good morning, Mr. Speaker.
  After 4 years, billions of dollars and thousands of lives, President 
Bush is once again asking Congress to reward failure with a blank check 
for the war in Iraq. Many of my Republican colleagues are more than 
willing to give the President anything he wants, but Democrats refuse 
to be a rubber stamp for the President's failed policies and, instead, 
want to finally require Iraqis to take control of their country. And 
yet the President has threatened to

[[Page H2491]]

veto legislation that contains his own benchmarks for success in Iraq, 
ensures our troops have the training they need, and fully supports both 
our veterans and our soldiers wounded in combat.
  Our legislation also commits additional funding to fighting the 
forgotten war in Afghanistan. Over the last 4 years, the Bush 
administration has redirected funds and troops away from Afghanistan, 
forgetting that al Qaeda and the Taliban were the ones that attacked 
our Nation in 2001.
  Mr. Speaker, Democrats will not allow President Bush to continue to 
pursue these failed policies. We will insist on a new direction.

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