Speeches
Pelosi: ‘Iraq Legislation Ends Blank Check for the President’s War Without End’
05/10/2007
Below are her
remarks:“Since January, a majority of
members of this House have been working to change course and change the mission
in
“Today, we will take the next step
in that effort by, providing for our troops fighting a war in Iraq that the
President initiated, but for which he has refused to pay in his annual budget
requests; honoring our commitment to our wounded veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan,
and other wars who struggle to get the medical care and benefits they deserve
from a system overwhelmed, underfunded, and unable to respond effectively;
demanding accountability from the Iraqi government on whose efforts at national
reconciliation depends, but whose accomplishments in this area have been
negligible, disappointing, and unworthy of the sacrifice of our troops on the
ground in Iraq.
“This legislation ends the blank
check for the President’s war without end. It provides a path to stability in
the Middle East by changing our mission in
“Chairman Obey’s bill satisfies
each of these requirements. It meets the immediate needs of our troops, but
allows Congress to decide in a few months whether the situation on the ground in
“You would think that the
President would embrace this legislation. It has his benchmarks, it asks for a
progress report. Perhaps he thinks there will be no progress, so he’s afraid of
that report; and then we will have a vote in the House as to whether to continue
the war. This is the kind of regular and responsible review of the war Congress
should have been conducting since the mission began more than four years
ago.
“Regrettably, but not
surprisingly, the President has threatened to veto the Obey bill.
Unfortunately, the President has taken us down this road before. The President
has brought us to this point by vetoing the first Iraq Accountability Act and
refusing to pay for this war responsibly. He has grown accustomed to the free
hand on
“The American people have made it
clear that they want a new direction on
“The President said today that he
would accept benchmarks. But what he fails to accept is accountability for
failing to meet those benchmarks. Benchmarks without consequences are
meaningless.
“It’s interesting to me that in
the President’s No Child Left Behind legislation he has established standards
for
“Congress has offered the
President recommendations for change in
“This bill offers more ideas for
winding down this war. I urge the President to consider these ideas, and those
which may be proposed by the Senate, and work with us in conference to produce a
bill that meets the needs of our troops and the expectations of our country.
“We owe it to the American people
to try to find our common ground so that we can end this war. And we will do
that. But we will stand our ground if it is a blank check for a war without
end. We look forward to continuing our conversations with the White House, with
the Senate, to again draw down this war and bring home our troops safely and
soon.”