[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3992]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    TIME TO SEND THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION A MESSAGE THAT A CHANGE IN 
                      DIRECTION IS NEEDED IN IRAQ

  (Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is time to send a message to 
the Bush administration that change is needed in Iraq. Mr. Speaker, the 
resolution we are debating this week here on the House floor is the 
first step in this new Congress' efforts to take Iraq in a new 
direction.
  Last November the American people were clear that they wanted a 
dramatic change in Iraq. The President's troop escalation plan is not 
what they were asking for. This week this House will emphatically voice 
its opposition to the President's plan. We hope that this serves as a 
wake-up call and sends the ``Decider'' a message that he can no longer 
walk over Congress. We are not going to rubber-stamp his plans any 
more.
  This week's debate is only the beginning, Mr. Speaker. House and 
Senate committees have already conducted 52 hearings on Iraq. That is 
what the Congress is supposed to do, provide real oversight on the 
administration. Unfortunately for the first 3 years of this war, 
congressional Republicans rubber-stamped the Decider's Iraq plan.
  Those days are over. Mr. Speaker, we have an obligation to find a new 
course in Iraq, and a military solution is now out of the question. And 
that is why this troop escalation plan should be defeated.

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