[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 20045]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TONIGHT'S PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I briefly rise, as well, to 
join my colleague in acknowledging the meeting between the Prime 
Minister of India and, of course, the President of Pakistan asking for 
their fellow countrymen and -women to understand the importance of 
aspiring for peace for their people.
  But I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to really ask my colleagues and the 
American people what tonight's debate should really be about. This 
debate has been almost poised as a contest between two warriors. In 
fact, I believe this is a debate for the American people. The question 
should be asked, why were the American people told that we needed to go 
to war for the weapons of mass destruction that did not exist? Why have 
some thousand-plus of our young men and women and family members died 
in Iraq when there was no basis for this war? Why did the President not 
seek a constitutional vote for this war? Why are there thousands of 
wounded lying in our hospitals and we do not even know if the veterans 
hospitals will remain open?
  The question is, who can lead us forward, and the answer is John 
Kerry. That is what this debate is about, what will the American people 
want for their future and I can assure you it is not and should not be 
a litany of untruths from their national government; they simply want 
the truth.

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