To amend title 49, United States Code, to grant the State of New York authority to allow tandem trailers to use Interstate Route 787 between the New York State Thruway and Church Street in Albany, New York.

Mr. Speaker, today's actions are a shameful disservice both to our soldiers in Iraq and to Americans here at home. Republicans are denying the Nation an open debate on the war in Iraq. On tonight's agenda, the Republicans not only have replaced Mr. Murtha's resolution on Iraq with H.R. 571, a perversion of the Murtha Resolution that Representative Hunter introduced, and which in no way conveys the sentiment of Representative Murtha's proposal. They also have had the temerity to characterize it as a ``Democratic proposal.''

Representative Murtha's Resolution states that, ``The deployment of U.S. forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and the forces are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date.'' It also provides for deploying a contingency capability outside of Iraq, and requires America to pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy. The Republican legislation contains none of this language.

I am a member of the ``Out of Iraq Caucus'' because I believe we should bring our troops home from Iraq as soon as practicably possible, as does Representative Murtha. The citizens of this country deserve to have a true floor debate on why this is right and on how best to do it. Then their Representatives owe them an up or down vote on this issue. Mr. Murtha's speech should open serious hearings on the issue, followed by extensive debate on our policy in Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, to paraphrase FDR: Tonight it's clear that the only thing the Bush White House has to fear is public debate itself.

It is the height of hypocrisy for the Republican leadership to schedule a sudden, strait-jacketed mini-debate and vote on their version of Mr. Murtha's resolution. To understand this hypocrisy its necessary to put their deceit in context.

The House Majority Leadership has consistently refused to allow the House to debate H.J. Res. 55, an earlier bill offered by 63 House members in a bipartisan fashion. It would require the President to set forth a plan for withdrawal from Iraq and to begin to implement it next fall. The Republican Leadership has stonewalled efforts to have this bill considered in committee and brought to the Floor for consideration. They have forced us to employ the parliamentary last resort of filing a discharge petition, in order to force the Leadership to let us debate H.J. Res. 55. The issue before the House at this point is not even the merits of that resolution. Instead, it is preservation of the basic democratic process and the ability of the public to hear debate on the most pressing issue facing this country.

Now, in a 180 degree reversal, the Leadership suddenly wants an abbreviated debate on our policy for ending President Bush's disaster in Iraq. Why this bizarre turn-around, Mr. Speaker? The answer is simple. Mr. Murtha, the Ranking Member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee yesterday struck fear in the Leadership and the White House with his statement of plain truths. Because of his stature in this body, the gentlemen from Pennsylvania, with that single speech, shredded the White House's defense of its flawed policies.

Until now, the President and Vice President have relied on questioning the patriotism of their critics on Iraq. They have hidden behind the claim that--any critics of their war do not support our troops and do not respect our troops' sacrifices. They have repeated that outrageous mantra over and over, most disgracefully in President Bush's remarks on Veterans Day.

Those false claims to discredit critics were demolished in one stroke by Mr. Murtha's statement. The White House knows full well:

that there is no more patriotic Member of this House,

that there is no Member who loves our troops more,

that there is no Member who has supported our troops more, and

that there is no Member who has served in our military more bravely than Mr. Murtha.

The White House political spinners also realize that the American people are disgusted when attacks on a patriot like Mr. Murtha are made by elected officials in the White House who sought to evade military service in time of war. So now they resort to this sleazy tactic. They pretend to have the Nation consider the issues raised by Mr. Murtha's candid analysis, but in reality they seek to sweep those powerful remarks under the rug.

Then they will pretend that the Congress has seriously considered the tragic issues of life and death and claim that this steam-rollered vote reflects the fully-informed, considered opinion of our constituents. That's nonsense.

This is a disgrace to the House, and more important, it's a disgrace to all that our men and women in Iraq are fighting and dying for. The American people and our soldiers deserve better than this cheap trick. To those across the aisle who want to prevent the American people from learning the awful truths about Iraq and who seek to stifle real national debate, there is only one thing to say: ``Shame on you.''

Mr. Hunter's charade should be defeated.