Time to Send the Bush Administration a Message that a Change in Direction is Needed in Iraq

TIME TO SEND THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION A MESSAGE THAT A CHANGE IN DIRECTION IS NEEDED IN IRAQ

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is time to send a message to the Bush administration that change is needed in Iraq. Mr. Speaker, the resolution we are debating this week here on the House floor is the first step in this new Congress' efforts to take Iraq in a new direction.

Last November the American people were clear that they wanted a dramatic change in Iraq. The President's troop escalation plan is not what they were asking for. This week this House will emphatically voice its opposition to the President's plan. We hope that this serves as a wake-up call and sends the ``Decider' a message that he can no longer walk over Congress. We are not going to rubber-stamp his plans any more.

This week's debate is only the beginning, Mr. Speaker. House and Senate committees have already conducted 52 hearings on Iraq. That is what the Congress is supposed to do, provide real oversight on the administration. Unfortunately for the first 3 years of this war, congressional Republicans rubber-stamped the Decider's Iraq plan.

Those days are over. Mr. Speaker, we have an obligation to find a new course in Iraq, and a military solution is now out of the question. And that is why this troop escalation plan should be defeated.

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