Limiting Use of Funds to Establish Any Military Installation or Base in Iraq

Floor Speech

LIMITING USE OF FUNDS TO ESTABLISH ANY MILITARY INSTALLATION OR BASE IN IRAQ

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Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to strongly support H.R. 2929, a bill to prohibit permanent bases in Iraq, and I thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) and the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen) for their persistent leadership on this important issue.

The House passed the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq this month to get our troops out of Iraq by April. The question now is not whether we will redeploy our troops, but when and how.

This resolution makes it emphatically clear to the Iraqi people and to President Bush that we do not intend to keep troops in Iraq indefinitely.

The United States must not be seen as an occupier. Otherwise, our presence there will be used to recruit insurgents, to keep Iraq entrenched in violence and to create an even more dangerous environment for our troops.

This House, too, has already expressed its opposition to permanent bases, but today, we do it clearly with bipartisan support and send a very clear statement. I urge all of our colleagues to listen to the will of the American people, of the Iraqi people, and to support H.R. 2929.

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