[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 24380-24381]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1930
                     END 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, last week, the President called for an 
enduring relationship with Iraq, a relationship that extends beyond his 
administration. He did not tell us exactly how long this would last, 
but we have to have a good idea, because the White House and the 
Secretary of Defense have said that our involvement on the Korean 
peninsula should be the model for Iraq. That would mean they are 
planning to occupy Iraq for 50 years or more.
  Consider what this means: A lame duck administration is committing 
the United States to decades of occupation that will cost trillions of 
dollars and result in the deaths of countless American troops and Iraqi 
civilians. This is simply, simply, intolerable.
  We were also told last week that the next Petraeus report will come 
in this coming March and we must wait for that report before we act. 
But we can't sit around and we can't wait. We can't wait for another 
Petraeus report; we can't sit around and wait for another Crocker 
report, because we are fiddling while Iraq burns. We have already had a 
4\1/2\-year sugar-coated spin and TV show from the Oval Office.
  Mr. Speaker, enough is enough. The occupation is damaging America 
morally, politically and economically, and

[[Page 24381]]

it must end. The Congress has the constitutional power and the Congress 
has the responsibility to end it.
  It is time to take bold action. It is time to use our power, our 
power of the purse, to bring our brave troops home. We must pass a bill 
requiring that all war spending be used for one purpose and one purpose 
only, to fully fund the safe, orderly and responsible withdrawal of 
American troops and military contractors. Commanders on the ground 
would be given what they need to ensure the safe redeployment of all 
troops. The bill should also set firm and doable dates for the start 
and the end of the withdrawal.
  We can then help the Iraqis by replacing military action that isn't 
working with the strong regional and international diplomatic efforts 
that can work, work to bring about reconciliation and reconstruction to 
Iraq.
  By using our power of the purse, the Congress can set the political 
agenda. We can build political momentum for withdrawal by offering the 
American people a clear and easily understood plan for ending our 
involvement in Iraq. And we can change the terms of the debate from the 
narrow ``is the surge working'' to ``how soon can we get on with the 
job of bringing peace to Iraq and restoring America's moral leadership 
in the world.''
  If we use our constitutional power of the purse, the administration 
would surely attack us. They would say we are cutting off funding for 
the troops. But that would be false. The troops would get every single 
last dollar they need to come home to their families, come home safe 
and come home sound.
  To those who might have objections to this plan, I would say, is 
there a better way to end the occupation once and for all? I think the 
answer is no, there is none.
  I ask all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me. Do 
what the American people sent us here to do: End the occupation of 
Iraq, and end it now.

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