Dingell Introduces Legislation Requiring U.S. Pullout from Iraq by January 20, 2009

Press Release

Dingell Introduces Legislation Requiring U.S. Pullout from Iraq by January 20, 2009

Washington, DC - Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15) today introduced legislation setting a hard date for a pullout from Iraq. The bill does not yet have a number. The Congressman made the following remarks on this legislation:

"Yesterday the President announced that he will ask Congress for almost $200 billion to continue his failed policies in Iraq. He has also presumptively warned those that disagree with his Iraq strategy that "they ought to make sure our troops have what it takes to succeed." This type of divisive politics may have worked for the President in the past, but the majority of Americans now realize that it is the President who is not giving the troops what they need: a clear plan for quickly and safely getting our troops out of Iraq.

"I have been opposed to the war in Iraq from the very beginning, but as the war drags on I am increasingly concerned that the President is hoping to leave this mess for the next President to fix. That is why today I am introducing legislation that would require the President to begin withdrawal of our troops from Iraq within thirty days, and require him to complete that withdrawal by January 20, 2009. It would require the President to implement the findings of the Iraq Study Group, to assist with the rebuilding and reconstruction of Iraq, to engage in vigorous diplomatic efforts to enlist the assistance of other regional and global actors in these efforts, and to provide humanitarian assistance to the millions of Iraq refugees that have been displaced by the sectarian violence in Iraq.

"For years now, the American people have been told that progress in Iraq is just around the next corner. Over and over again, the President has told us that we need to be patient, to allow him more time to show results. The sad reality is that President Bush has no strategy for Iraq, and has instead adopted a policy of running out the clock so that he can lay the blame for his failures on the next President.

"The President ignored the findings of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which offered a blueprint for transferring responsibility for security to the Iraqi police and military, and demanding political progress by the Iraqi government. The President has vetoed spending bills that included benchmarks for progress that the vast majority of the American people support. And now in the same week media reports indicate that more than a billion dollars has gone unaccounted for in Iraq, the President has requested what amounts to a blank check so that he can keep 130,000 troops in Iraq through the end of his term in office.

"Because the President refuses to take responsibility for his failed strategy, I believe it is time for Congress to act. My bill would allow the United States to safely and responsibly begin bringing our troops home from Iraq, while at the same allow us to fulfill our responsibilities to the Iraqi people."

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