[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2706]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              WAR IN IRAQ

  (Mr. PASCRELL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PASCRELL. President Bush says that he is going forward with his 
plan for a troop surge in Iraq regardless of what the Congress does and 
what the American people want. But Senator Specter was right when he 
said yesterday that the President is not the sole decider, that the 
future of this war is a joint and shared responsibility with this 
Congress. It is time the President realizes that Congress will no 
longer be asleep at the wheel while this war rages on.
  You need only to read the Constitution to know that Congress has the 
power to decide the direction of this war. The Constitution gives 
Congress an array of war powers, including the power to declare war, to 
raise and support armies and make rules concerning captures on land and 
water. The Framers knew what they were doing in checks and balances. 
They intended that, by giving Congress the power to declare war, they 
had the authority to make decisions about the war's scope and duration.
  Now is not the time for a troop surge. Now is the time for a real 
plan in Iraq. The Murtha Plan, which I support, stipulates a diplomatic 
surge instead of a troop surge. It is time for President Bush to 
realize that we all support our brave troops, but America does not 
support the war.

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