US Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 -- Veto Message from the President of the...

Floor Speech

U.S. TROOP READINESS, VETERANS' CARE, KATRINA RECOVERY, AND IRAQ ACCOUNTABILITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007--VETO MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 110-31)

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Mr. WAMP. Mr. Speaker, I want to make five points.

First, we need to realize that this threat is real. And I say to the members of the Get Out of Iraq Caucus that if we were not in Iraq tomorrow, this threat is not going away. We don't spend enough time focusing on this fact that the jihadists within Islam are insulated within the Islamists and the moderates, and there is not enough confrontation from them to each other. This threat is mounting globally. It is spreading. Europe is basically lost. And I don't want America to end up alone, but this threat is not going away, and we need to know it.

Former Senator Fred Thompson said here 2 weeks ago, and he is right, that when we do leave Iraq, it is either going to be a dangerous world or a more dangerous world, and it depends on what we do in Iraq as to whether it is dangerous or more dangerous, and this legislation is at the heart of that challenge.

Number two, words matter. The majority leader of the United States Senate saying that the war is lost was on the front page of al-Jazeera in Arabic. That is not good for our country, not in this conflict or the future. Words matter.

Number three, this legislation was flawed. We said it early on. You shouldn't have this kind of micromanagement, tying the hands of the generals, telegraphing retreat, and then adding a bunch of extraneous matters to this legislation that should go through the regular order and the regular appropriations process. It was a bad bill. You porked it up and slowed it down.

Number four, the veto was the right thing to do. The President is not popular. We all know that. But isn't it refreshing that the President is doing the right thing even though it is unpopular because he is putting the interest of our country above that of his party or even this moment doing the right thing? That is leadership.

Our distinguished Speaker came and said a few minutes ago that she was substituting the President's judgment for her judgment. And I say respectfully to our Speaker, I have served under three Speakers. She has her constitutional role, and it is not the Commander in Chief. She is the Speaker, not the Commander in Chief. She is also not General Petraeus, and this is a wrong-headed approach. We can do better.

Lastly, the solution is for the leadership to go and sit down with the President of the United States and put our troops above our parties. Clearly ask: What do you require?

The President should clearly ask what can I do for the Congress, and let's not go through this again.

My nephew is on his way to Iraq, as many Members of this House know. Let's make sure they have what they need. Let's not give up here. We don't need another Somalia. We don't need another Beirut. We don't need to lose this war. We need to stay and improve and do better and come out with our head up.

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