Message From the Senate

MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE -- (House of Representatives - June 15, 2006)

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Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, we can say what we want on the floor of this House. We can debate and vote on nonbinding resolutions like this. But what is most important to the American people is not what we say here but what we do here.

This resolution does not commit this House to do anything. It does not require this Congress to take any measures to hold the Bush Administration or ourselves accountable for what is happening in Iraq.

The Bush administration was totally wrong about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. No one has been held accountable. The Bush Administration totally miscalculated the number of troops that would be required to provide greater stability on the ground in post-invasion Iraq. No one was held accountable. The Bush Administration got the costs of the war totally wrong. Again, no one was held accountable.

It is a simple principle. If you reward and ignore failure today, you are going to get more failure tomorrow. This House has ignored those failures. While our men and women have been fighting bravely in Iraq, this House has been AWOL when it comes to providing oversight.

Instead of providing a system of checks and balances, this Congress has been a blank check and a rubber stamp.

If we were a board of directors, we would be sued by shareholders for gross negligence.

I proposed a simple amendment to this resolution. It would have required this Congress to actually do something--to conduct adequate oversight and to implement the 9-11 Commission's recommendations, including those requiring this body to reform its own intelligence oversight process. The Republican leadership refused to allow us to debate or vote on my amendment. It apparently wants this House to remain an accountability free zone.

Ten hours of debate does not excuse years of giving the administration a blank check on Iraq. A non-binding resolution is not a substitute for an action plan. Let's start doing our job. We owe it to our troops and the American people. Shame on this House for abdicating its constitutional responsibility.

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