Providing for Consideration of HR 1591, US Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act, 2007

Floor Speech

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1591, U.S. TROOP READINESS, VETERANS' HEALTH, AND IRAQ ACCOUNTABILITY ACT, 2007

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished Chair of the Rules Committee for yielding me the time.

Mr. Speaker, I want this war to come to an end now. I had reservations when I voted in support of the supplemental a few weeks ago, and I have misgivings about the conference report that is before us today. I believe very deeply that this war represents one of the biggest blunders in our history and that we must change course and bring it to an end.

But, Mr. Speaker, to defeat this conference report tonight would provide President Bush with a victory that he does not deserve and that he has not earned, and it would affirm a disastrous policy in Iraq. A vote against this conference report is a vote to support the status quo, which is essentially a vote to support a failed policy.

Since the President decided to escalate the war in Iraq, the violence has gotten worse. This administration has demonstrated a contempt for the American people, who have demanded a change in our Iraq policy.

Mr. Speaker, this President is presiding over a policy and a war in Iraq that is making the United States more vulnerable, not more secure. He refuses to listen. He refuses to acknowledge the facts. He refuses to compromise.

Now he has threatened to veto this conference report. And if he does so, then this President will make perfectly clear to the American people that the only way this war is going to end, the only way our troops will ever come home to their families and loved ones, the only way the Iraqis will ever be held accountable for governing their own country and ending their sectarian violence, will be if Congress finds a way to end it.

Every day it becomes more and more clear that the President has decided to kick the ball down the field to make this war somebody else's problem. Two years ago, President Bush announced his exit strategy for Iraq. He said, ``That's a problem for the next President.''

Mr. Speaker, that is unacceptable and it is false. It is a problem for all of us. None of us in this Chamber wake up each morning in harm's way. None of us stare death in the eye or see our comrades fall to bullets and bombs. Not even the Green Zone provides a sense of security any longer.

Instead of demanding reconciliation, we are building walls to keep Shiites away from Sunnis. Every day, thousands of Iraqis are fleeing the horror that has become their country. The best and the brightest are leaving. The average shopkeeper, the next-door neighbor, all are packing their bags and trying to find a way out of town, out of the country, away from the violence, the death and destruction.

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that whenever we finally leave Iraq, it will not be pretty. This failed policy has left Iraq with few options. But until we begin to leave, no one has to make the hard choices about how Iraqis are going to live together or die together.

Mr. Speaker, this terrible chapter in our history must come to an end, and I urge all my colleagues to join with me in saying to the President of the United States, enough is enough.

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