[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18622-18623]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    STOP THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ NOW

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, President Bush delivered a speech in 
Cleveland yesterday in which he said that ``Congress ought to wait.'' 
That is what he said; Congress ought to wait for General Petraeus and 
his report on the surge in September before deciding what to do about 
Iraq.
  When I heard that remark, I thought to myself, I wonder what the 
President would like us to do while we are waiting? Does he think we 
should take up knitting? Should we empty out our committee rooms and 
use them for ballroom dancing lessons? Should we have a sign on the 
door of the House of Representatives that says, ``Gone Fishin'''?
  The President's remark was, of course, outrageous. The American 
people did not send us to Washington to wait and to do nothing. They 
sent us here to take action, to end the occupation of Iraq, and that is 
what we must do.
  We cannot wait, because American troops continue to die. More than 
600 have died since the troop surge began last winter.
  We cannot wait, because at least 13,500 Iraqi civilians have died 
since the escalation began, and that is according to very conservative 
estimates.
  We cannot wait, because the war is costing a staggering $10 billion 
every single month, more than $60 billion since the escalation began.
  We cannot wait, because the violence in Iraq is forcing tens of 
thousands of new refugees to flee their homes every single month.
  And we cannot wait, because the escalation has only escalated the 
violence. April, May and June produced more American military deaths 
than any other 3-month period since the war began in Iraq.
  Instead of telling the Congress to wait, the administration should be 
saying to the Iraqi government, stop waiting. Stop waiting, and start 
working on the political solutions to Iraq's problems. Our troops have 
done their part, but the Iraqi government has been either unwilling or 
unable to do its part, and our leaders seem to refuse to hold them 
accountable.
  So we cannot allow the administration to sing that old tune, ``See 
You in September,'' because the American people have made it clear: 
They want this occupation to end, and since the administration won't do 
it, then Congress must.
  The House will consider a troop redeployment bill this week. I 
introduced a bill, H.R. 508, way back in January when the escalation 
first began, to end the occupation. H.R. 508 calls for fully funding 
the safe, orderly and responsible withdrawal and redeployment of our 
troops within 6 months, and it guarantees full funding for the 
healthcare needs of our veterans.
  The bill also includes provisions to help the Iraqi people get back 
on their feet, maintain stability and prevent a worsening of the civil 
war. It would accelerate multinational assistance to Iraq for 
reconstruction and reconciliation in that shattered land. And because 
our involvement in Iraq has taught us that we must take a new approach 
to foreign policy, my bill absolutely rejects preemptive war, which 
clearly doesn't work. Instead, it calls for diplomatic efforts to help 
Iraq and help its neighbors to achieve political, not military, 
solutions to regional problems.
  Mr. Speaker, the administration has abrogated its responsibilities, 
and Congress has waited in the wings too long.

[[Page 18623]]

Now it is time for us to take the stage of history and put America on a 
new and better course. It is past time to bring our troops home.

                          ____________________