[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3990]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




CONGRESS IS PROVIDING REAL OVERSIGHT OF THE ADMINISTRATION AND THE WAR 
                                IN IRAQ

  (Mr. SIRES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. SIRES. Mr. Speaker, since the beginning of the war in Iraq, 
congressional Republicans have stood on the sidelines as the Bush 
administration proved time and time again that it could not manage the 
war.
  When Democrats took control of Congress we vowed things will be 
different. Mr. Speaker, we are living up to that promise. In the last 
month, House and Senate committees have held 52 hearings on the war in 
Iraq. Congress is finally asking the tough questions of this 
administration.
  This week each of us has an opportunity to speak on the President's 
troop surge. Every single Member of this House will have 5 minutes to 
speak on the resolution. The House has not debated the issue of war 
like this since the first gulf war in 1991.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people want Congress to take its oversight 
responsibility seriously. And this new Democratic Congress is doing 
just that.

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