[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9205]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  PRESIDENT BUSH SHOULD LISTEN TO SECRETARY OF DEFENSE GATES WHO SAYS 
                     CONGRESS' TIMELINES ARE USEFUL

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, as the President prepares to meet with 
congressional leaders today to discuss the emergency supplemental, he 
should listen to his own Secretary of Defense, who said that Congress' 
timelines have been useful in forcing the Iraqi Government to make 
compromises that have been elusive in the past.
  While traveling in the Middle East, Defense Secretary Gates said 
yesterday, and I am quoting, ``The debate in Congress has been helpful 
in demonstrating to the Iraqis that American patience is limited. The 
strong feelings expressed in the Congress about the timetable probably 
have had a positive impact in terms of communicating to the Iraqis that 
this is not an open-ended commitment.''
  And that is what Democratic Members of this House have been saying 
for weeks. It is time to hold the Iraqi Government accountable and 
pressure them to meet the President's own guidelines.
  If President Bush refuses to listen to this Democratic Congress and 
leaders that he is meeting with today, it would be nice if he would at 
least listen to his Defense Secretary, who is saying that our efforts 
to change the direction of the war in Iraq are having a positive 
effect.

                          ____________________