The War In Iraq
THE WAR IN IRAQ -- (House of Representatives - January 11, 2007)
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Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment the gentlewoman from California for her leadership in overseeing this Out of Iraq task force. Clearly, the work that this task force has done had an impact on the elections of 2006 and continues to have an impact as we go down the line.
I want to be very brief. Last night, I went home and I turned on the President's speech; and as a good American, I wanted him to convince me that there was reason to send 21,000 young men and women back into Iraq. See, as a young Congresswoman, this is my 8th year, I have attended five funerals: a young man 19, another young man 28, another young man 28, another one 40-something, and another one in his 30s.
And I sat there and I looked into the faces of those mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, spouses and children; and it was hard for me to come up with words to explain to them why their family members had died.
We can talk about how they paid the ultimate price; but I wanted to say to them, ladies and gentlemen, I am not going to let their deaths be just another number in this 2,000, 3,000 young men and women we have lost. So I waited last night for President Bush to tell me something, give me an indication, say, STEPHANIE, this is why we need to send 21,000 more people; and I never got it. I never, ever got it. So it is hard for me to explain to my constituency that we ought to send 21,000 more people.
So I come to the floor once again this evening to say to Ms. Waters and all the rest of my colleagues in the Out of Iraq conference, it is the same old song with a different meaning. Same beat, same old song over and over again. It is time to come out of Iraq.
Ms. WATERS. Thank you very, very much.
I now yield to one of our new Members of Congress, a gentleman who comes with a great background and who has hit the floor running, Representative KEITH ELLISON from Minnesota.
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