Mr. Speaker, last week, the President called for an enduring relationship with Iraq, a relationship that extends beyond his administration. He did not tell us exactly how long this would last, but we have to have a good idea, because the White House and the Secretary of Defense have said that our involvement on the Korean peninsula should be the model for Iraq. That would mean they are planning to occupy Iraq for 50 years or more.

Consider what this means: A lame duck administration is committing the United States to decades of occupation that will cost trillions of dollars and result in the deaths of countless American troops and Iraqi civilians. This is simply, simply, intolerable.

We were also told last week that the next Petraeus report will come in this coming March and we must wait for that report before we act. But we can't sit around and we can't wait. We can't wait for another Petraeus report; we can't sit around and wait for another Crocker report, because we are fiddling while Iraq burns. We have already had a 4 1/2 -year sugar-coated spin and TV show from the Oval Office.

Mr. Speaker, enough is enough. The occupation is damaging America morally, politically and economically, and it must end. The Congress has the constitutional power and the Congress has the responsibility to end it.

It is time to take bold action. It is time to use our power, our power of the purse, to bring our brave troops home. We must pass a bill requiring that all war spending be used for one purpose and one purpose only, to fully fund the safe, orderly and responsible withdrawal of American troops and military contractors. Commanders on the ground would be given what they need to ensure the safe redeployment of all troops. The bill should also set firm and doable dates for the start and the end of the withdrawal.

We can then help the Iraqis by replacing military action that isn't working with the strong regional and international diplomatic efforts that can work, work to bring about reconciliation and reconstruction to Iraq.

By using our power of the purse, the Congress can set the political agenda. We can build political momentum for withdrawal by offering the American people a clear and easily understood plan for ending our involvement in Iraq. And we can change the terms of the debate from the narrow ``is the surge working'' to ``how soon can we get on with the job of bringing peace to Iraq and restoring America's moral leadership in the world.''

If we use our constitutional power of the purse, the administration would surely attack us. They would say we are cutting off funding for the troops. But that would be false. The troops would get every single last dollar they need to come home to their families, come home safe and come home sound.

To those who might have objections to this plan, I would say, is there a better way to end the occupation once and for all? I think the answer is no, there is none.

I ask all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me. Do what the American people sent us here to do: End the occupation of Iraq, and end it now.