[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 161 (Tuesday, October 23, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H11853]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                NEW DIALOGUE NEEDED TO BRING TROOPS HOME

  (Mr. BRALEY of Iowa asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Madam Speaker, it is clear that President Bush 
has no intention of changing the course in Iraq in any way before he 
leaves office in January 2009. In fact, both the President and the 
Pentagon have recently said that they expect American combat troops to 
be in Iraq for another 10 years; and just yesterday the President 
requested an additional $196 billion to fund the war in Iraq for the 
upcoming year.
  The Democratic Congress rejects the notion that our troops are needed 
in Iraq for the next decade. If the Iraqi Government knows that we are 
going to be there for 10 years, they have absolutely no reason to make 
any of the tough political compromises that they promised they would 
make when the troop escalation began earlier this year. Instead, we 
support a responsible redeployment out of Iraq so that the Iraqis can 
finally take control of their own fate and so that we are no longer 
sending more than $2 billion there every week.
  Madam Speaker, House Democrats are committed to bringing our troops 
home, but we can't do it alone. I hope this outrageous funding request 
serves as a wake-up call to my Republican friends and starts a new 
dialogue to bring our troops home.

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