[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 19889]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            THE WAR IN IRAQ

  (Ms. SOLIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, since the Iraqi War started, nine soldiers 
have died in my district, all under the age of 30, and I attended some 
of their funerals.
  As of to date, 1,051 servicemen and women have been killed in Iraq, 
and more than 7,500 have been injured.
  Our servicemen and women are serving this Nation with honor and 
demonstrating great courage beyond our belief. Yet the actions of our 
President are not helping to ensure their safety and security. While 
their job is to fight, ours is to protect them.
  The violence is not stopping. The streets are not safer. Our soldiers 
and Iraqi citizens continue to be at risk and are dying.
  The U.S. had a plan to topple Baghdad, but it did not have a plan to 
adequately win and secure the peace. We need to secure the Nation. We 
need to equip it with the tools to protect and defend itself. And we 
need to establish peace.
  What we need is new direction in Iraq. We need strong leadership and 
accountability, and we need to make sure that whatever this government 
provides in terms of funding is actually made available so that all our 
military on the ground has sufficient equipment and supplies that are 
needed.

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