[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 305]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1400
                  THE MANDATE TO BRING THE TROOPS HOME

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Andrews). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, yesterday all of my colleagues and I took 
the oath of office as a Member of this great House of Representatives, 
swearing to support and to defend the Constitution of the United States 
of America. I take this responsibility very seriously.
  I take my responsibility to my constituents very seriously, and 
sometimes that means standing up to the executive branch when I believe 
it is in error, when it has gone too far or is openly ignoring the 
wishes of the people of America. This is what our founding fathers 
expected of the Congress, and, quite frankly, this is what the American 
people expect from the Congress.
  Today I stand here and give my 174th 5-minute special order speech 
calling for an end to this misguided occupation in Iraq and calling on 
the President and all of my colleagues to support our troops by 
bringing them home. Already, over 3,000 American troops have been 
killed in Iraq, at least 44,000 have been wounded. Reports indicate 
that anywhere from 40,000 to 100,000 Iraqis, it is probably more, have 
lost their lives.
  How many more families must grieve? How many more children must be 
orphaned? How many?
  The voters sent a clear message on November 7 that Congress must 
stand up and say no more. The Iraq Study Group also sent a message. I 
was clear that the situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating. Even 
President Bush finally admitted last month that we are, and he said, we 
are not winning in Iraq, although he also said we are not losing.
  Enough Washington double-speak. It is time for action. How about a 
plan for the future of Iraq from President Bush? We have already spent 
nearly $400 billion on this occupation, and yet he is asking for $127 
billion more. We already have 130,000 troops on the ground, and now we 
hear that he wants to send even more. He is calling it a surge. Let us 
be honest here, sending in more troops to clean up the mess the 
President has already made is an escalation. Enough is enough. No more 
fuzzy math, no more sloganeering, no more troops dying, no more.
  Soon I will introduce a comprehensive package to bring our troops 
home while supporting Iraqi sovereignty. I urge my colleagues, please 
work with me to bring this real and workable bill to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, the voters have demanded an end to President Bush's 
occupation of Iraq. They don't want more talk, they want a real plan. 
They want a plan that will bring our troops home. This is our mandate, 
and this is the oath we swore to yesterday.

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