[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16173]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       ALMOST 4,000 DEAD IN IRAQ

  (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, sadly, we are moving toward 
almost 4,000 dead in Iraq. I don't believe there are enough times that 
we can recount for the American people how many have already died; 
25,000 are injured.
  I am grateful to the Democratic leadership for providing enhanced 
funding for the veterans hospitals and the Veterans Affairs Department 
to break the backlog of those veterans' wait for services and to help 
those in outpatient centers who need care.
  But the real issue is when is the Iraqi Government going to stand up?
  Just this past weekend, bombing occurred in Afghanistan where we need 
to turn our attention, but we understand that there is a possibility 
that the Iraqi Parliament will end its work and go off on a vacation 
for July and August while our soldiers are dying.
  It is time now for this administration to understand the misdirection 
of this mission, to cause the Iraqi Government to stand up so that we 
can stand down. How many more lives, how many more families for these 
brave and wonderful men and women on the front lines of Iraq? They are 
our heroes, they are the patriots. We salute them.
  It is time now for the administration to stand up for them and make 
the Iraqi Government stand up and take care of the Iraqi people.

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