RESPONSIBLE REDEPLOYMENT FROM IRAQ ACT -- (Extensions of Remarks - July 13, 2007)
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* Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2956, and I appreciate the fact that we are again addressing this important issue today. I want to start by recognizing the ongoing sacrifices and tremendous bravery of the men and women of our armed forces. Their dedication inspires us all and we owe them a debt of gratitude.
* Very simply put, it is time to bring our troops home. The effort they are making has not been met by the Iraqi government, and there is no reason to believe that the situation is going to improve there in the foreseeable future. The various reports we have received just this week underscore this point. As I have said for some time, we are beyond the point of being able to impact events in a meaningful way militarily. The political decisions that the Iraqis need to make will not be made as long as our soldiers are there, and I seriously doubt they will be made when we are gone. All we are doing is letting an untenable situation drag on, with our soldiers caught in the crossfire. We are spending over $329 million every day in Iraq. That is a staggering sum of money. We can redirect that money to better fighting the war on terror and also addressing important domestic initiatives.
* Mr. Speaker, I did not vote to authorize this war, I did not vote for the troop surge and I have voted for a time line to bring our troops home. The vast majority of the American people see that the President's dream for Iraq is not going to happen. They want him to wake up and face reality. This bill provides a plan on how to do that. I support the approach in this bill, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for it.