Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, we have a disaster in the Gulf of Mexico which makes it absolutely obvious that we do not have the answers to preventing and combating such carnage. We have not, any of us, Republicans or Democrats, invested in the necessary science and the important steps to prevent and combat an oil spill of this size.

That's why, as a result of the San Francisco Bay spill over a year ago, I introduced H.R. 2693, to streamline from 17 to three agencies and oversee the prevention and the responsibility to respond to preventing oil spills and to cleaning up oil spill emergencies. I would have the three agencies be:

NOAA, which brings its expertise on how to protect marine life and sensitive marine ecosystems. It would be the lead agency. I would have the Coast Guard, which will bring the expertise as the first responder, and the Environmental Protection Agency would be the third agency, to provide an understanding of the environmental and public health needs of any response and prevention methods.

We may need more. We'll find out later.

Mr. Speaker, the United States' troops will be on the front lines of the surge in Kandahar, and they are just now deploying, and they are learning the lay of the land. But, ironically, the cloud of smoke over Iceland is delaying many arrivals, according to an article in The Washington Post last week, an inauspicious beginning of the most important battle of this war.

The task at hand in Kandahar, however, is less intensive militarily. Frank Ruggiero, our top civilian official in Afghanistan, has said that ``Kandahar is a political problem. And the campaign in Kandahar will be led by governance.'' While it's a comfort to know our troops may not face the gravest possible danger, Mr. Ruggiero's assessment is very troubling because political and governance problems are exactly the ones that this mission has failed miserably.

This campaign is called Operation Enduring Freedom, but the only way we can help the Afghan people enjoy enduring freedom is if we help them build durable, sustainable, democratic governing institutions that will thrive long after our military occupation is over. By neglecting that critical task, Mr. Speaker, we are creating a power vacuum that the Taliban and other warlords and strongmen are only too eager to fill.

If the Taliban has proved resilient in Marja, and they definitely have after we supposedly drove them out a few months ago, then just imagine how hard it will be to vanquish them completely from Kandahar, their spiritual home.

We have proven our military muscle. We have shown that we can invade and conquer. But, Mr. Speaker, that can't be the end game. What are we leaving behind that will actually allow Afghanistan to thrive and its people to prosper? To paraphrase the old Pottery Barn rule from the run-up to the Iraq war, we're good at breaking it, we just don't know what to do once we own it. Or to use the vocabulary of counterinsurgency doctrine, we know how to clear; it's the holding, and especially the building, that we are botching.

Things don't look promising, Mr. Speaker. Even General McChrystal conceded last week that we're not currently winning the war. Gilles Dorronsoro, an expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is even more frank. He says, ``Nothing is working. All the information is that the military campaign against the Taliban in Kandahar is not working and it's not going to work.''

What I believe, Mr. Speaker, will work is the one thing we haven't tried in the last 8\1/2\ years, ending this war once and for all. Of course we won't abandon Afghanistan, far from it. In fact, to address the enormous governance challenges we ought to launch a new kind of surge, a civilian surge. That would mean devoting the energy and the investment to development--democracy-building and other humanitarian efforts--that we have invested in the war, because our continued military presence cannot solve Afghanistan's problems. It can only exacerbate them.

It's time, it's time, it's time to bring our troops home.

Mr. Speaker, the United States' troops will be on the front lines of the surge in Kandahar, and they are just now deploying, and they are learning the lay of the land. But, ironically, the cloud of smoke over Iceland is delaying many arrivals, according to an article in The Washington Post last week, an inauspicious beginning of the most important battle of this war.

The task at hand in Kandahar, however, is less intensive militarily. Frank Ruggiero, our top civilian official in Afghanistan, has said that ``Kandahar is a political problem. And the campaign in Kandahar will be led by governance.'' While it's a comfort to know our troops may not face the gravest possible danger, Mr. Ruggiero's assessment is very troubling because political and governance problems are exactly the ones that this mission has failed miserably.

This campaign is called Operation Enduring Freedom, but the only way we can help the Afghan people enjoy enduring freedom is if we help them build durable, sustainable, democratic governing institutions that will thrive long after our military occupation is over. By neglecting that critical task, Mr. Speaker, we are creating a power vacuum that the Taliban and other warlords and strongmen are only too eager to fill.

If the Taliban has proved resilient in Marja, and they definitely have after we supposedly drove them out a few months ago, then just imagine how hard it will be to vanquish them completely from Kandahar, their spiritual home.

We have proven our military muscle. We have shown that we can invade and conquer. But, Mr. Speaker, that can't be the end game. What are we leaving behind that will actually allow Afghanistan to thrive and its people to prosper? To paraphrase the old Pottery Barn rule from the run-up to the Iraq war, we're good at breaking it, we just don't know what to do once we own it. Or to use the vocabulary of counterinsurgency doctrine, we know how to clear; it's the holding, and especially the building, that we are botching.

Things don't look promising, Mr. Speaker. Even General McChrystal conceded last week that we're not currently winning the war. Gilles Dorronsoro, an expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is even more frank. He says, ``Nothing is working. All the information is that the military campaign against the Taliban in Kandahar is not working and it's not going to work.''

What I believe, Mr. Speaker, will work is the one thing we haven't tried in the last 8\1/2\ years, ending this war once and for all. Of course we won't abandon Afghanistan, far from it. In fact, to address the enormous governance challenges we ought to launch a new kind of surge, a civilian surge. That would mean devoting the energy and the investment to development--democracy-building and other humanitarian efforts--that we have invested in the war, because our continued military presence cannot solve Afghanistan's problems. It can only exacerbate them.

It's time, it's time, it's time to bring our troops home.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New York for allowing me this time, and I appreciate the cooperation we're getting from both sides of the aisle on this very important issue.

On April 5, 29 miners were killed and two injured in a massive explosion which ripped through Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, West Virginia. It was a shock to all of us. Unfortunately since then, there have been two other mine accidents, one in Kentucky and another in West Virginia, that have resulted in even more fatalities.

The explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine was the worst mine accident since 1970 when 38 miners were killed in an explosion at a mine in Kentucky.

We are now, Mr. Speaker, in the 21st century, and there is absolutely no excuse for these tragedies. There are ongoing investigations into the explosion

at the Upper Big Branch mine so we don't yet know exactly what caused this blast, but we do know that Massey Energy has a long, long history of health and safety violations at this mine and others of theirs and that it has received hundreds--not a few--but hundreds of citations before the blast occurred.

This tragedy and the conduct of this mine owner towards the safety of its workers further highlight the need for the Education and Labor Committee to fully perform oversight functions. We owe this much to the families of the fallen miners and to those miners who go to work each and every day so that they can come home safely to their families every night.

The deposition authority provided by this resolution, which is the product of a bipartisan agreement, as we all know, is a vital tool for the committee, and I urge passage of this resolution by every Member of the House of Representatives.

Madam Speaker, on May 18, 2010, I was unavoidably detained and was unable to record my vote for rollcall No. 261. Had I been present I would have voted: Rollcall No. 273: ``yes''--Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Improvement Act of 2009.

Madam Speaker, on Tuesday, a suicide bomber deliberately crashed his minivan on a street in Kabul during one of the busiest times of the day. According to The New York Times account, and I quote them, ``The blast blew bodies apart. Limbs and entrails flew hundreds of feet, littering yards and walls and streets. In a passenger bus, an Afghan woman lay dead in her seat, cut in half, with her baby still squirming in her arms. Fifty yards away, a man's head lay on the hood of a truck.'' It was the most devastating strike seen in the Afghan capital in some time, Madam Speaker. It served as a kind of ``welcome home'' from the insurgents to President Karzai, just returning home from his visit to the United States, who was getting ready to brief reporters at the Presidential palace, just a short distance away from the site of the explosion.

Aside from the gruesome civilian casualties, this attack is also significant because it claimed the lives of five of our soldiers, which brings the total number of U.S. troop fatalities in the war in Afghanistan to over 1,000. This tragic milestone should fill us with horror, Madam Speaker. It should keep every one of us awake at night.

For years, the failure to make progress in Afghanistan flew under the radar as the war in Iraq grabbed most of the attention and headlines. But more than 100 months into the Afghanistan conflict, the mission is clearly floundering. More than half of those 1,000 deaths have occurred just since September of 2008. The decision to send more troops has only intensified the violence and emboldened the militants, doing nothing to bring lasting stability to Afghanistan and to its people.

This war has not accomplished any of its stated goals. Here we are, 8\1/2\ years after we supposedly drove out the Taliban, and lo and behold, the Taliban is resurgent, poised to fill the power vacuum in districts and villages where we've done nothing to build strong and legitimate governing institutions. Remember the reportedly successful military offensive over the winter in Marja? A few months later, it turns out, the residents are fleeing in droves because the Taliban has reasserted itself. One U.S. official now calls Marja ``a work in progress but not trending in the right direction.'' And this is one of the places where we had declared victory.

We have been patient, Madam Speaker. We have given the strategy a chance to work. It failed. It has failed at nearly every turn, and 1,000 deaths is far too many. Before the number grows, let's bring our troops home.

Mr. Speaker, last week's state visit did absolutely nothing to ease serious concerns about the leadership of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai. Our counterterrorism strategy is supposed to depend on having a stable, responsive, transparent, democratic government that enjoys the confidence of the Afghan people. Instead, Mr. Karzai's government has proven itself to be irresponsible and ineffective in a way that jeopardizes his country's future and the safety of American troops. Karzai has lashed out at the United States, even threatening at one point to join the Taliban. And our own Ambassador to Afghanistan has publicly questioned his reliability as a strategic partner.

While we have no choice but to have a dialogue with President Karzai, it is critical that our approach to this relationship involve at least as many sticks as carrots. We owe the American people some assurance that we are not letting the Afghan Government misuse our tax dollars with impunity.

Mr. Speaker, the Center for American Progress has a new report that discusses the crisis of governance in Afghanistan. The government, it says, ``operates on a highly centralized patronage model in which power and resources are channeled through Karzai's personal and political allies. The system lacks the connection, the rules, and the checks and balances necessary to make leaders truly accountable to the domestic population.''

One of the allies, Mr. Speaker, referenced in the report is Karzai's brother, a thuggish political boss who rules Kandahar with an iron fist. There is evidence that he operates his own militia and is actively involved in the drug trade. The report goes on to note that our Afghanistan strategy has overemphasized the military solution and neglected the critical task of helping build viable state organs, especially at the local level.

In Marja, for example, we left no government infrastructure behind after the military cleared out the Taliban. Our single-minded focus on using hard power to vanquish terrorists just isn't working. The Taliban remains a potent political force; and the more government fails to provide basic services, the more likely are the Afghan people to rush into the arms of the Taliban.

The answer, Mr. Speaker, is the smart security platform. I have been advocating this smart security platform for years. Instead of a military surge which represents more of the same old failed policy, what we clearly need is an aggressive civilian surge.

We need to divert resources away from troop deployment and toward programs that will empower the Afghan people and bolster the capacity and competence of their government, a government that works for their people and with the international community.

At his press conference with President Karzai, President Obama said that ``Afghans are a proud people who have suffered and sacrificed greatly because of their determination to shape their own destiny.'' Mr. Speaker, that is undoubtedly true, and that's why they deserve better than government by cronyism, and American troops also deserve better than to shed blood for a corrupt and dysfunctional regime.

So, Mr. Speaker, it's time to bring our troops home and launch a smart security plan, and it's important that we do it today.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Guerneville School District on the occasion of its 150th anniversary. The school can trace its history to several separate one-room schools in Russian River communities in Sonoma County, CA. The earliest was founded in 1860, and the last one merged into the Guerneville School District in 1955.

The direct forerunner of the school opened its doors in the old-time logging town of Guerneville on First Street, in a building which now houses the Sonoma County Veterans' Memorial Hall. There were four classrooms serving students in first through eighth grades. In 1949 the school moved to its current location, one mile north on Armstrong Woods Road.

Guerneville School District operates from the Armstrong Woods Road site today, although it has gone through many transformations to raise it above flood level and to gradually replace the original rooms with spacious classrooms, offices, gymnasium, library, and computer lab, as well as a modern play yard. Today it houses students in grades K-8.

But the school's biggest asset is its community of students, parents, and staff who work together to create a learning environment that addresses the whole student. To achieve this, Guerneville School District offers ``a campus that is friendly, safe, and welcoming; a district that accepts and is committed to diversity; and an educational environment that promotes unity of staff on both professional and community levels.''

The school also works in partnership with the larger community to impart a sense of citizenship to the students and secure local support. One of its programs, Circle of Sisters, was started as a pilot project by St. Joseph Health System to promote the self esteem of middle school girls; Circle of Sisters was such a success that it has been replicated around the area.

Madam Speaker, I congratulate the Guerneville School District and all of its family, friends, alumni, students, and staff as they celebrate this momentous occasion. Happy 150th birthday!

Madam Speaker, I rise today with my colleague, Representative Mike Thompson, to honor a friend and community leader, Judge Arnold, Arnie, Rosenfield. Judge Rosenfield is retiring after a distinguished career marked by his commitment to children and families and his foresight in establishing successful programs to serve them.

Born in Connecticut, Arnie Rosenfield attended Vanderbilt University, where he earned his J.D. in 1971. That same year he married Phyllis Ann Rubins, and the couple has two children, Jessica and Asa.

Judge Rosenfield began his career as a Deputy District Attorney in San Luis Obispo County, CA, where he demonstrated early on his passion to serve those not always well-represented in the justice system. He handled one of the first large successful consumer protections trials in California, and in 1977, after taking the same position in Sonoma County, he established a Consumer Protection Unit. He later opened a private practice and served as the first Commissioner of Sonoma County Superior Court before being elected Superior Court Judge in 1984, a position he held until his retirement on December 31, 2009.

The majority of Judge Rosenfield's cases involved the juvenile court, and he was always a strong advocate for children at risk for emotional trauma. In 1996 he initiated the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for Sonoma County, which advocates for the needs of abused children caught up in the justice system. He instigated the development of the Redwood Children's Center for easing the process of interviewing and examining these children and has been a supporter of Social Advocates for Youth, the Valley of the Moon Foundation, Jewish Children and Family Services, and the Parent Education Project of Sonoma County. He also served on the Advisory Committee on Juvenile & Family Law for the California Judicial Council. ``I have been very involved in my career in trying to make the court system work better for kids and families who find themselves caught up in it,'' he says.

Judge Rosenfield was also a strong proponent of restorative justice, an approach in which offenders work with the victims and the community for repair of the harm they have done. He used these techniques, especially for kids, before there was an actual movement and became a leader in the field as well as an instructor at Sonoma State University, Empire Law School, and California Judicial College.

For his work, Judge Rosenfield has received numerous awards including Juvenile Court Judge of the Year by the California Judges Association and the 2009 Rex Sater Award from the Sonoma County Bar Association for Excellence in Family Law.

Madam Speaker, Judge Arnold Rosenfield has provided Sonoma County with a legacy of innovative programs and, more importantly, an example of what passionate leadership can accomplish. ``It's my belief that for the most part what we do to kids and families here in the justice system continues to be destructive,'' he says, ``and I've spent my time trying to make it more constructive. I try to care about the families that I see and am very gratified to see lives turn around.'' Thank you, Judge Rosenfield, for the many lives you have turned around and for showing us what can be done in the name of justice.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1261) recognizing National Nurses Week, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I request 5 legislative days in which Members may revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H. Res. 1261 into the Record.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of H. Res. 1261, which recognizes National Nurses Week and the significant contributions that nurses make to our Nation's health care system. National Nurses Week also stresses the importance of quality higher education in nursing to meet the needs of one of the fastest growing professions.

National Nurses Week began on May 6, a day also known as National Recognition Day for Nurses. Today marks the end of the week of recognition as we celebrate the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.

All across the Nation, communities have spent this week recognizing our Nation's 3.1 million nurses for their heroic acts, years of service to the community, and commitment to the nursing profession. Today's health care system requires nurses to be present at every stage of patient care, including partnering with physicians, pharmacists and other health care professionals to direct and manage patient needs. We thank them for their hard work and dedication.

The number of nurses in the United States is expected to grow rapidly in the near future. The Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates that the employment of registered nurses will grow by 22 percent from 2008 to 2018. The growth in nursing job openings, along with an increasing number of nurses retiring or leaving the profession, is likely to lead to a continued demand for nursing professionals. In fact, it is estimated that there could be a shortage of more than 1 million nurses by the end of this decade.

Madam Speaker, while we honor America's nurses, we know we must do more to expand and sustain the profession. According to the National League for Nursing's most recent survey of all prelicensure nursing programs, thousands of qualified applicants have been rejected from nursing programs nationwide in the last few years. According to the League, the lack of capacity in nursing programs is due in part to a continuing shortage of nursing educators. It is vital that we support efforts to enhance existing education programs at both the baccalaureate and graduate level.

Madam Speaker, once again I express my support for National Nurses Week and the focus on the contributions of our Nation's many nurses to our health care system. We honor the excellent work done by nurses and encourage them to continue making a difference each and every day.

I thank the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) for introducing this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to recognize for such time as she may consume the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson), the author of H. Res. 1261.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to recognize the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps), who is also a nurse, for such time as she may consume.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 1261, recognizing National Nurses Week and recognizing the significant contributions that nurses make to our Nation's health care system.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 959) to increase Federal Pell Grants for the children of fallen public safety officers, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on H.R. 959 into the Record.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in full support of H.R. 959, which offers financial assistance for higher education to the children of police officers, firefighters, and other first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

Madam Speaker, it is an American responsibility to look after the children of our fallen heroes. A small but important gesture to fulfilling this commitment is to make a college education possible for the children who have lost a parent in the line of duty. These mothers and fathers have given their lives so that we might be safe. We should do all that we can to help their sons and daughters be successful.

We know that the loss of a parent can make it difficult for families to make ends meet, let alone send their kids to college. Making their children eligible for the maximum Pell Grant is the way to thank the officers for their sacrifice and to give their children an education which they might not otherwise be able to afford.

Under this bill, a child of a fallen police officer, firefighter, or other first responder who is eligible for a Pell Grant would become automatically eligible for the maximum Pell award. This legislation would waive the income eligibility requirements in such cases.

With passage of the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act, we expanded Pell Grants to survivors of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in a similar manner. As a result, these children will be eligible for more than $20,000 in grants for college over 4 years.

Whether it's a sacrifice made on a distant battlefield or protecting our citizens here at home, it's time we extended this benefit to all of the children of our fallen heroes. Our fallen heroes deserve our thanks and they deserve our respect, and we can honor them by supporting their children as they seek out a higher education.

I ask that my colleagues join me in full support of H.R. 959, and to take a moment to appreciate the daily sacrifices made by America's police officers, firefighters, and first responders.

I want to thank Representative Murphy for bringing this resolution to the floor, and I urge my colleagues to pass this resolution.

I also want to thank Chairman Conyers of the Judiciary Committee for working with the Education and Labor

Committee on allowing this bill to move expeditiously to the floor.

House of Representatives,

Committee on the Judiciary,

Washington, DC, May 10, 2010.

Hon. George Miller,

Chairman, Committee on Education and Labor, House of

Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Miller: In recognition of the desire to

expedite consideration of H.R. 959, the Officer Daniel

Faulkner Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act of 2010,

the Committee on the Judiciary agrees to waive formal

consideration of the bill as to provisions that fall within

its rule X jurisdiction.

The Committee takes this action with our mutual

understanding that by foregoing consideration of H.R. 959 at

this time, it does not waive any jurisdiction over subject

matter contained in this or similar legislation, and that our

Committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as the

bill or similar legislation moves forward, so that we may

address any remaining issues in our jurisdiction. The

Committee also reserves the right to seek appointment of an

appropriate number of conferees to any House-Senate

conference involving this or similar legislation, and

requests your support for any such request.

I would appreciate your including this letter in the

Congressional Record during consideration of the bill on the

House floor.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and for the

cooperative working relationship between our two committees.

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.,

Chairman.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to recognize the author of H.R. 959, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Congressman Patrick Murphy, for as much time as he may consume.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 959, which offers financial assistance for higher education to the children of police officers, firefighters, and other first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1333) expressing support for the goals and ideals of Children's Book Week.

Madam Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on H. Res. 1333 into the Record.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1333, a resolution in support of the goals and ideals of Children's Book Week, to be held from May 10 through May 16, 2010.

Children's Book Week is a great time to highlight the importance of reading to our children and our students. Educators, librarians, booksellers, and families have long celebrated children's books and the love of reading.

Since 1919 children's books and Children's Book Week have put an annual spotlight on this vitally important activity for a child's education and cognitive development. Through storytelling, parties, and author and illustrator appearances, this week helps to encourage a love of reading in our children.

Today, even the very youngest child in America is growing up immersed in media, spending hours a day watching TV and playing video games. Parents and teachers promote better learning for these children when they turn off the TV and pull out a book and either sit with the child and read it or have the child read it on his or her own.

This year, official Children's Book Week events will be hosted in 10 cities and in classrooms, libraries, bookstores, and homes all across this country.

In addition, the Children's Choice Book Awards will honor important authors who bring their gifts of writing and imagination to our kids.

Madam Speaker, once again I express my support for Children's Book Week and celebrate reading for students of all ages. I thank Representative Roe for introducing this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota for working with us on these last three resolutions.

I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 1333, a resolution in support of the goals and ideals of Children's Book Week.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on May 12, 2010, I was unavoidably detained and was unable to record my vote for rollcall No. 261. Had I been present I would have voted: Rollcall No. 261. ``Yes''--Supporting the goals and ideals of National Women's Health Week, and for other purposes.

Madam Chair, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5116, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act. I want to commend Chairman Gordon for his hard work in bringing this bipartisan bill to the floor, and I want to thank Ranking Member Hall for his help and his cooperation.

I believe in science, and I believe that with enough support, our scientists can solve almost any problem put in front of them. But, Madam Chairwoman, at the end of the day, this bill is about jobs, investments in basic and applied research, green manufacturing jobs, high-risk, high-reward technologies that lay the groundwork for a clean energy economy and create thousands of new jobs in the United States of America, jobs that we will have a workforce prepared to fill because a central piece of this effort encourages more girls and unrepresented minorities to become involved in science, technology, engineering and math--STEM--education at the K through 12, undergraduate, and graduate levels. So then those students will be able to choose a STEM career.

I'm pleased that this bill includes STEM provisions because without bringing women and minorities into the workforce with high tech engineering and math education, we won't have the workforce we need to compete worldwide.

So, Madam Chairman, H.R. 5116 supports these innovations that will not only change the way we generate energy but will also leave a cleaner and healthier world for our children and for our grandchildren.

So I urge my colleagues to join me and support Chairman Gordon and Ranking Member Hall in green jobs by voting for H.R. 5116.

Madam Speaker, Monday, yesterday, was the most violent day so far this year in Iraq. In what the Associated Press called a ``relentless cascade of bombings and shootings,'' insurgents killed more than 100 people, not to mention hundreds of wounded and maimed, in a series of coordinated attacks. Both civilian and security forces came under siege: a bombing outside a restaurant in Kut province; another at the mayor's office in Tarmiya; another at a market in Suwayra; and security checkpoints throughout Baghdad hit by gunmen disguised as street cleaners.

At a textile factory in the city of Hillah, the bombing was timed at the end of a shift, maximizing the bloodshed and the casualties. When people rushed to help the wounded, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in the crowd, just adding to the carnage. According to the AP account, the wounded in Hillah could be heard cursing their government for its inability to protect them.

A few years ago, you'll remember we were told the insurgency was in its ``last throes.'' But it is clearly capable of wreaking havoc--and doing so with precision and sophisticated planning. The continuing political instability in Iraq is contributing to the chaos, as the elections held more than 2 months ago have yet to produce a clear winner and a new government. There's real danger, Madam Speaker, that if the Sunnis are not given a stake in the new government, we could see the kind of sectarian strife bordering on civil war that exploded in Iraq just a few years ago.

With most of the recent attention on Afghanistan, this onslaught serves as a chilling reminder of just how dangerous and unstable Iraq remains. Fear and violence remain a way of life. We can't become complacent, Madam Speaker. We can't forget about the role of the U.S.- led military occupation and what role that played in inflaming the insurgency in the first place and in provoking these kinds of attacks. Much was made of the supposed blow to the insurgency when two leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq were killed last month. Yesterday's horror just goes to show that killing terrorists and killing militants just makes it easier for al Qaeda to recruit new ones.

Just a few hours ago comes word that top officials are apparently drawing exactly the wrong conclusion for Monday's attacks. They're talking about slowing down the pace of the redeployment of our troops out of Iraq. What we need instead, Madam Speaker, is an acceleration of the redeployment plan, because our continued military presence is a key factor in motivating militants to acts of unspeakable terror. We're doing as much to engender violence as to tamp it down. We're doing as much to undermine security as we are to contributing to it. Only by ending our military occupation and replacing it with a civilian surge can we hope to foster peace, stability, and democracy in Iraq.

The men and women of our armed services have performed their duties with honor and courage. They are not to blame for a failed policy, Madam Speaker. But for their safety and for the good of Iraq and for the good of the future of the Iraqi civilians and their country, let's bring our troops home.