Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona for yielding. I also want to thank him for his extraordinary and compassionate and principled and eloquent advocacy of life. The people of Arizona who cherish life are extraordinarily well served by Mr. Franks.

I come to this well having enjoyed a day, Mr. Speaker, on the National Mall, where over 100,000 Americans by some estimates gathered in the bitter cold 35 years after a Supreme Court decision, and they gathered for one reason and one reason only, because those Americans cherish the sanctity of life and are unwilling to go quietly into that good night, which is an America that walks away from a belief that every life is sacred.

100,000 people. Not at the podium. Not with the television cameras on them, as some of us were. Not with the accolades of people in a movement who will write on the Internet or write editorials how they approve of our stand. But in the obscurity of a throng of tens of thousands, Americans came. In the dead of winter. It was extraordinary, Mr. Speaker, I must say, and it gives me great hope about this movement.

The sanctity of life is the central axiom of Western civilization. It is, I believe, our commitment to the unalienable right to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness that split the atom of the American experiment and has created the freest and most prosperous and most powerful nation in the history of the world. It is because we embrace that ethic that we are endowed by our Creator with the unalienable right to life. And there, 35 years after Roe v. Wade, 100,000 Americans are still standing in the cold for that principle.

I rise tonight very humbled to hear the eloquence of my colleagues, but filled with hope after a hurried day in this movement, because I have seen the faces of the foot soldiers of the right to life. I have stood among a throng of young Americans, particularly young women under the age of 30, who are choosing life as never before. In the last 20 years, abortion has declined by more than 20 percent.

I believe, as you could see in those relationships today on the National Mall, it's not just because of political debate, but it's because of moral persuasion. In the last 35 years, I believe in the quiet counsels between mothers and daughters, between grandmothers and granddaughters, the truth about abortion is being told.

Life is winning in America.

I rise tonight simply, Mr. Speaker, to speak a little out of turn, and not just to your chair, but maybe to those that are looking in tonight and to say thank you for standing for life. Your efforts on behalf of the unborn are not in vain, and I do believe in our lifetime, if we will exercise the faith and perseverance and compassion and civility that was in evidence on the National Mall today, we will see Roe v. Wade collapse like the Berlin Wall. It will collapse finally and at last on that day when people on both sides of the debate don't want it there anymore.

Madam Speaker, one year into a liberal Democratic majority in Congress the economy is struggling. The big government policies of the new majority are taking their toll. High gasoline prices, the sub- prime market crisis in housing, and news that inflation is at a seventeen year high, all demand a bipartisan stimulus package in the next thirty days. Congress must act; and must act swiftly.

I submit that Congress must focus economic relief on the kind of stimulus that will create jobs and growth for small businesses and family farmers. The real antidote to the impending downturn is more money in the hands of the wage-earner, and the wage-payer. This is, and always has been, the pathway to prosperity in the American economy.

Madam Speaker, one year into a liberal Democratic majority in Congress, the economy is struggling. The big government policies of the new majority are taking their toll. High gasoline prices, the subprime market crisis in housing and news that inflation is at a 17- year high all demand a bipartisan stimulus package in the next 30 days. Congress must act, and must act swiftly.

But there will be choices to make. Democrats want an extension of unemployment insurance benefits and tax rebates. Republicans will accept rebates, but they also want incentives for businesses, while avoiding tax increases to offset the package.

I submit that Congress must focus stimulus on the kind of economic stimulus that will create jobs and growth for small business and family farmers. The real antidote to the impending recession is more money in the hands of the wage earner and the wage payer. This is and always has been the pathway to prosperity in the American economy.

I urge my colleagues to work in a bipartisan manner to stave off this impending economic downturn in the best interests of all of the American people.

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

I rise in strong support as an original cosponsor of House Resolution 912, condemning the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and reaffirming the commitment of the United States to assist the people of Pakistan in combating terrorist activity and promoting a free and democratic Pakistan.

Let me begin by commending the chairman of the subcommittee, on which I serve as ranking member, for taking his usual efforts with speed and sensitivity and professionalism to bring this resolution to the floor forthwith. I also want to commend Chairman Lantos. And I would take note of the presence of the Speaker of the House on the floor. This is an important resolution for this Congress to embrace, and it is important in the wake of this tragedy that it be the first thing this Congress do in this year.

All of us, as we were enjoying time with our families in the immediate aftermath for many of us of a memorable Christmas, we were struck by the extraordinary and tragic events of 27 December 2007. As my colleague, Mr. Kennedy, just said, some of us were closer to those events at the time than others, but they were events that shattered the hopes of the entire world for a move in the midst of our critical ally, Pakistan, from a military dictatorship to democracy.

And while there is always second-guessing about decisions that were made and policies that were made, let

me say squarely, as does this resolution, the blame for this outrage, the blame for this tragedy lies squarely with the assassins. They alone are responsible for the horrific death of Benazir Bhutto. In fact, an al Qaeda commander and spokesman, Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, gloated to the Italian news agency that they had ``terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat the mujahadeen.''

And, of course what makes this tragedy so moving and this congressional action so timely is that the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto knew the stakes. She knew precisely the dangers into which she was entering. In a late November interview even with Parade magazine here in the States, she said, ``It is only now that America has awakened to what we are already fighting, namely, Islamic jihadists.''

As the ranking member of the full committee said moments ago, eloquently, Secretary of State Rice called Benazir Bhutto ``a woman of great courage.'' And courage is a word we throw around a lot in political life, it seems, but it was in this moment that I was struck with the reality of courage. Courage is not the absence of fear; courage is action on one's principles in the midst of fear. One has to know that this 54-year-old Harvard and Oxford graduate, giving up a life of luxury in exile, knew the dangers that faced her and the mortal peril in which she was walking on behalf of a free and democratic Pakistan. One cannot fail but be moved by that. If there was any doubt, then the immediate attack upon her on 18 October 2007, which left some 145 of her supporters dead, relieved all doubt of the danger in which she was entering. And yet Benazir Bhutto, the first woman elected to lead a Muslim country, went forward, continued to take the risk, continued to advocate freedom, and paid the ultimate sacrifice.

I will say that while I want to acknowledge her unapologetically secular approach to leadership in government, I can't help, when I look at Benazir Bhutto, to think that she will long be remembered with a verse that comes out of a Christian tradition, which is, that greater love has no man or, if I may, woman, than this than to lay down their life for their friends.

Benazir Bhutto showed a love for the people of Pakistan. She showed a love for freedom. And in this resolution, the United States of America by its Congress will reaffirm to the people of Pakistan our commitment to justice in this instance, and our commitment to see stability and democracy reign in that critical ally.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the ranking member of the legislative branch of the Appropriations Subcommittee, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp).

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and original cosponsor of this resolution, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe).

I thank the gentleman for his courtesy. I have no additional speakers, but would reserve the right to close for a minute or two.

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

I want to rise again to express my strong support of this resolution and urge as near a unanimous adoption of this resolution as this Congress can muster.

I want to commend the gentleman from New York (Mr. Ackerman) for his swift and sympathetic and thoughtful legislative workmanship on this measure. As I said before, I think, given the tragic events of 27 December 2007, it is important that this Congress be heard on a resolution condemning this assassination, and it is important that it be the first substantive measure that this Congress takes up. And I commend Mr. Ackerman, the chairman of the committee Mr. Lantos, and Speaker Pelosi for facilitating that, as I do my colleagues on the committee in the minority.

This resolution condemns in the strongest possible terms the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. It supports efforts by Pakistan to bring to justice those who have perpetrated this cruel and cowardly act. It welcomes the provision of assistance by the government of the United Kingdom, and it commends the government of Pakistan for accepting such assistance.

In addition, it urges the people and the government of Pakistan to be relentless in their pursuit of a democratically elected government, including the holding of free and fair elections at the earliest possible opportunity. It urges support for a free media.

And perhaps in the seventh paragraph, as I close, Madam Speaker, it, this resolution, which I hope and trust will be unanimously adopted today, reaffirms the commitment of the United States to assist the people of Pakistan in combating terrorist activity and promoting a free and democratic Pakistan.

I quote again the words of the late and, no one would argue, great Benazir Bhutto who said just this fall in an American magazine, ``It's only now that America has awakened to what we were already fighting, Islamic jihadists.''

I believe the greatest legacy that Benazir Bhutto could leave is not only a legacy of a democratically elected government in her country, but it would be a legacy of a further awakening in the world to the threat that free societies and those that seek to be free face from radical Islamic jihadists. If her legacy can be not only progress for her people toward democracy, but progress in the free world to renewing our determination to confront those who oppose our way of life with violence, both in support of the Pakistani Government and in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, if I might add, then that would be a powerful and meritorious legacy indeed.

I urge support of all of my colleagues for this important resolution.

I yield back the balance of my time.

At 3,500 pages, 34 pounds, members of the minority had roughly 1 day to review its contents. Mr. Speaker, here comes the bus. But the American people don't want this Congress to get on. Last night, the House passed a massive omnibus spending bill that gives deafening evidence that this government is broken. This budget process is broken.

I want to commend men and women of good will in this Congress who improved this bill along the margins, but $515 billion without a penny for Iraq is wrong and evidence that the budget process is broken. $515 billion with $10 billion in budget gimmicks and hundreds of unexamined earmarks gives evidence that this budget process is broken.

President Reagan said it 20 years ago from this podium. He said: ``The budget process is broken down; it needs a drastic overhaul. With each ensuing year, the spectacle before the American people is the same as it was this Christmas.'' He added: ``Budget deadlines delayed or missed completely, hundreds of billions worth of spending packed into one bill, and a Federal Government on the brink of default.''

The more things change in Congress, the more they stay the same. Say ``no'' to the ominous omnibus bill.

I thank the gentlewoman for calling this Special Order, and I am very humbled to be able to stand on behalf of the people of eastern Indiana and express my deepest sympathies to the family and colleagues of my friend, the late Julia Carson.

The Bible tells us to mourn with those who mourn and to grieve with those who grieve. Tonight on the floor of Congress, we gather to do just that. To mourn with the many tens of thousands of grateful constituents who are remembering Julia Carson this week and who owe a debt of gratitude to her for 30 years of service to the people of Indianapolis that they know in their hearts they will never be able to repay.

I grieve the passing of Julia Carson for a variety of reasons. First, for her service. She will be remembered as a pioneering leader in the State of Indiana. As the first woman and the first African American elected to Congress from Indianapolis, she will be long remembered in Indiana public life.

I will remember her throughout my own years in politics in trying to get into politics, seeming to see her contribute first as a State legislator, then as a legendary Center Township Trustee in Indianapolis, and later elected to the United States Congress. She was, and I say with affection, a fierce political competitor and succeeded at everything she tried to do, in politics and public service.

The gentle demeanor that we are remembering tonight belied a freight train of effectiveness that was Julia Carson. And I experienced that effectiveness, usually on the losing side of an argument. But what I would always find in Julia Carson is, while she was a fierce advocate here on the floor of the Congress for what she understood to be the needs of her district and the obligations of the law and of justice, that walking back to our offices after the fact, I would never fail to be moved by her gentleness and her kindness and her decency, which leads me to the other piece of Julia that I will always treasure, and that was her profound Christian faith.

I must tell you as a cheerful conservative Republican elected to Congress having observed her career from afar, I would have told anyone in Indiana that the last person I expected to be friends with in Congress was Julia Carson. She was tough. She was effective. She was liberal. But when I arrived in Congress as a new freshman, she reached out to me, and she reached out to me on the basis of our shared Christian faith. And it was on that foundation that we built a friendship.

And we, on occasion, found ways to work together. Working with her to pass legislation authored by another colleague in the Chamber today, the Second Chance Act, it would be Julia Carson that would appeal to this House conservative about the needs of breaking the cycle of recidivism and crime that beset so many families in the underserved community, but it would be her heart on that matter that would reach me with the wisdom of the Second Chance Act. And part of her legacy here today will be the success that we have seen that legislation experience this year and, I trust, in the future.

Every time I would ask her in her infirmity in the last year and a half how she was doing, I don't know how she would answer the rest of the Members here, Madam Speaker, but whenever I would quietly say, ``Julia, really, how are you doing?'' she would smile in that infirmity and say, ``I am blessed by the best.'' No complaints, no grumbling. ``Blessed by the best'' will be her legacy in my heart. To know that as I have the privilege of serving here, whatever the condition in which I serve, I will understand He who placed me here.

I think of that great verse. I don't know what the pastor will say at Eastern Star Saturday. My wife Karen and I will be there, as I know most of this Chamber would wish to be there at her funeral. I don't know what the pastor of that great church will say, but when I think of Julia Carson, I think of that mandate that we are called to do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God.

The Julia Carson I remember tonight and will always remember throughout my years in public service did justice as she understood it. She loved kindness even to those with whom she differed, and every day she was here, she walked humbly in the service of the people of Indiana. For that, we, as a State and as a Nation, will be eternally grateful.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the rule and in particular opposition to this ominous omnibus bill that comes to the floor of the Congress today.

I am tempted to say to the American people, Here comes the bus, but I'm not going to get on, because this legislation represents a fundamental failure of the legislative process.

Eleven separate appropriations bills balled into one, the sheer tonnage and weight that has been visible on the

screens of America tonight give evidence that this government is broken, and this budget process is broken; 3,500 pages, 34 pounds, and Members of the minority have had, at this very hour, roughly one day to review its contents.

This legislation, which we'll consider under this rule, will cost approximately $515 billion, including $44 billion designated as so- called ``emergency spending,'' and over $10 billion in other budget gimmicks being used to artificially lower the cost.

Now, I want to commend President Bush and the men and women of good will in this Congress who have worked to lower the cost of this legislation from its House- and Senate-passed versions. There have been improvements on the margin. There has been lipstick placed on this pig, but it's still a pig; and the American people are soon to find that out.

Let's take, for example, this legislation includes $31 billion for military operations in Afghanistan for protective equipment for troops overseas, but it does not include one dime to fund our troops in harm's way at this hour serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. I say to my patriotic colleagues in the other party, that is unconscionable that we would bring before this Congress a spending bill which, for some purpose, serves some audience far to the left of this Chamber, I suspect, who are not including a single cent for our soldiers in harm's way.

And this omnibus contains over $11 billion in so-called ``emergency'' and ``contingency'' spending. Let me favor my colleagues with some of the emergency provisions in this bill: $20 million for salaries at the Farm Service Agency, apparently salaries of employees at the Farm Service Agency unanticipated; $8 million for salaries at the Department of Justice, legal activities and salaries also at DOJ; salaries and expenses for everything from the U.S. Marshal Service to U.S. Attorneys. I mean, Mr. Speaker, where is the surprise in the emergency of finding out we have employees at the Department of Justice? And my own personal favorite here, we have a legislative emergency in the form of $100 million for Presidential security at political conventions. This is the so-called ``emergency spending'' which those who will point to this legislation as having come in at or near the President's numbers will not include these provisions. And there are so many more that will be explored in the months ahead.

This bill is also chock-full of the very worst kind of pork barrel spending. Let me say, Mr. Speaker, I requested earmark projects for my district, and there are some necessary infrastructure projects in this legislation for eastern Indiana. I brought every single one of them through the ordinary committee process in the light of day. But there are, we must assume, thousands of so-called ``air-dropped'' earmarks in this legislation which will not come to light until after this legislation is signed into law.

So it's what we don't know in this legislation that frustrates me the most; 24 hours, I say again, Mr. Speaker, 24 hours to review 3,500 pages and 34 pounds.

Twenty years ago, President Reagan came to this podium and said these words: ``The budget process has broken down. It needs a drastic overhaul. With each ensuing year, the spectacle before the American people is the same as it was this Christmas,'' he said, ``budget deadlines delayed or missed completely, hundreds of billions of dollars worth of spending packed into one bill, and the Federal Government on the brink of default.'' So said Ronald Reagan before this Congress two decades ago. The more things change, the more they seem to stay the same.

I was a harsh critic of reckless and wasteful spending when my party was in control; and I rise, respectfully, to register the same dissent. We can do better, Mr. Speaker. The American people expect from this Congress, whatever its management, whichever party, to do better than to pile into a heap our unfinished business the week before Christmas and send it all to the President without the light of day.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Lance Corporal Joshua Bleill, a veteran of the Iraq War, a fine Marine and a bright light to many of us. I have had the privilege of meeting this impressive young man and I am honored to enter the following poem written by Burt Caswell of the Capitol Guide Service into the Congressional Record.

A Bright Light

Madam Speaker, the Old Book says if you owe debts, pay debts; if honor, then honor; if respect, then respect.

Today I rise to pay a debt of gratitude and honor for a Hoosier lost in Operation Iraqi Freedom. I was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of Specialist Johnathan Lahmann of Richmond, Indiana, from wounds suffered in Bayji, Iraq on Monday when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

Specialist Lahmann served in the 59th Engineering Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, part of the Army III Corp based in Fort Hood, Texas.

To be a U.S. Army soldier is to be a part of the strongest fighting force in the world. Specialist Lahmann embodied the American Army values of loyalty, duty, honor, respect, and selfless service. He continued that proud tradition as a combat engineer.

Specialist Lahmann was also the recipient of the Expert Rifleman Badge and Army Good Conduct Medal. And he will be posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, having died in the line of duty.

I rise to express my profound condolences to his parents, Alan Lahmann and Linda Lahmann, to family, neighbors and friends for the loss of this brave young man.

Eastern Indiana will never forget the service and sacrifice of Johnathan Lahmann. His name will be enshrined in the hearts of two grateful nations.

On November 29, Americans learned of the passing of one of the giants of this Congress in the 20th century. Congressman Henry Hyde of Illinois died at the age of 83.

As Members in both parties know, throughout his nearly four decades in this Congress, Henry Hyde was the essence of dignity, civility, and a commitment to principle. He was a champion of the great causes, life, liberty

and the rule of law, a voice for the voiceless, victims of human rights abuses, and he was a lion of the right to life. In every sense, life has lost its lion, and this movement will miss his roar.

Henry once quoted me on this floor from his favorite poet Tennyson from the poem ``Ulysses.'' He said, by memory, ``Though we are not now that strength which in old days moved heaven and earth, that which we are, we are, one equal temper of heroic hearts made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.''

On all the great issues of the day, Henry Hyde strove, he sought, he found, he did not yield. May he rest in peace, and those of us who share his values and his principles not rest until the work he began is done.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, here in Washington, D.C., down the street from this very building is the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, a museum that serves as a living memorial to the Holocaust and which challenges its visitors and the world in the words written in its charter to: ``Confront hatred, prevent genocide, promote human dignity, and strengthen democracy.'' All of us serving in Congress take the challenge of those words to heart.

We have the unique ability in this institution to promulgate laws and policies that protect life, preserve liberty and confront genocide. Today, with the passage of the Genocide Accountability Act, in bipartisan numbers, this Congress will discharge that duty to history.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 888, the Genocide Accountability Act. In May of this year, it was my privilege to join my friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) to introduce H.R. 2489, which is the companion of the Senate version of the bill that is being considered today. I would like to commend the gentleman from California whose partnership on this and other legislation demonstrates his deep commitment to human rights and to human dignity and to America's place in advancing those principles in the world.

This is an important piece of bipartisan legislation simply because it provides America with a real and powerful tool to combat genocide around the world. The need for the Genocide Accountability Act is straightforward. Currently under U.S. law, genocide is only a crime if it is committed within the borders of the United States or by a U.S. national outside the country. Therefore, the Department of Justice is prevented from prosecuting people who may be in America who have committed genocide, as unthinkable as that might be.

Imagine a scenario where an individual who contributed to genocidal acts in Bosnia, Rwanda, or Sudan, or elsewhere, is determined to be here in America, somehow living under false pretenses or even traveling throughout our country. Under this scenario, the Department of Justice would be prevented under current law from prosecuting that person for genocide in this country. The Genocide Accountability Act closes this loophole. When implemented, it will allow prosecution of non-U.S. nationals who are in the United States for genocide committed outside the United States.

Under the scenario I just described, the Department of Justice would be able to prosecute people who are found to be in America and have perpetrated the worst kind of crime against humanity. Giving our law enforcement this type of tool is absolutely necessary in order to make it clear to the world that America will not tolerate genocide or the perpetrators of genocide, and that we will do all we can to hold those accountable who perform these heinous acts.

As Elie Wiesel stated, ``Once you bring life into the world, you must protect it. We must protect it by changing the world.''

Mr. Speaker, the Genocide Accountability Act changes the world today in a very small but a profound way, in my judgment. It strengthens the hand of the most powerful free Nation on Earth in fighting and prosecuting those who would commit the crimes of genocide. It is important and necessary, and I encourage my colleagues in the House to support this legislation today so it can be sent to the President for signature.

I want to commend the chairman of the committee, the ranking member and again the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) for his extraordinary leadership on this important and historic measure.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to engage in a colloquy on an issue affecting this legislation with the gentleman from California, Mr. Berman.

Our legislation, H.R. 2489, and S. 888 are identical bills, as you know. But during the Crime Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 2489, a witness from the Department of Justice theorized that the changes proposed by this bill might constitute a violation of the ex post facto clauses of article I of the Constitution in some cases. Let me ask you, if this legislation becomes law, Mr. Berman, would we be able to use it to prosecute a non-U.S. national taking part in the genocide in Darfur today?

I yield to the gentleman from California.

I thank the gentleman for clarifying that.

Lastly, going back to that specific hypothesis from the witness from the Department of Justice, if this new law were used to prosecute a perpetrator of a past genocide, the assertion was it may constitute an ex post facto violation of the Constitution. Do you agree with that hypothesis?

I thank the gentleman for his response. I thank him again for his leadership on this issue, to the ranking member Mr. Forbes for his leadership and courtesy today, and to the chairman and ranking member of the full committee. It is important legislation, and I urge all of my colleagues to join us in a strong bipartisan vote against genocide, in favor of the Genocide Accountability Act. It is time we gave the force of American law here at home behind our commitment to end genocide in the world.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Madam Speaker, the tide is turning in Iraq. As The Washington Post noted just last week, the number of attacks against U.S. soldiers has fallen to levels not seen since before February of 2006, the bombing of a Shiia shrine in Samara that touched off waves of sectarian killing.

The death toll of American troops in October fell to 39, the lowest level since March of 2006. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced this last Sunday that Sunni-Shiia violence in Baghdad was down more than 75 percent in the last year.

But sadly, today the House of Representatives will bring an Iraq supplemental bridge fund that once again brings the same tired language mandating withdrawal from Iraq.

It seems, Madam Speaker, the Democrats are adding denial to their agenda of retreat and defeat in Iraq. Now is not the time to micromanage a widening success in Iraq. Let's give the American soldiers the resources they need to get the job done, see freedom win, and come home safe.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I rise in opposition to the rule and the bill.

The tide is turning in Iraq, Mr. Speaker, but nothing changes on Capitol Hill. Here we go again. Another Democrat plan for redeployment from Iraq, tying some $50 billion in necessary combat funds to a Democrat plan for withdrawal.

With unambiguous evidence of progress on the ground in Iraq, the Democrats in Congress seem to have added denial to their agenda of retreat and defeat. And the evidence of our progress is unambiguous.

I have seen many different Iraqs in my five trips, some hopeful, some not hopeful. But the news coming out of Iraq just in recent days from independent and official sources is encouraging.

U.S. military fatalities are down sharply: 101 Americans lost their lives in uniform in June; 39 in October. Iraqi civilian deaths are down sharply: 1,791 casualties in August; 750 in October. Mortar rocket attacks by insurgents in October were the lowest since February 2006. Iraqi officials say they plan to reduce checkpoints, ease curfews, and

open some roads around Baghdad because of the improving security situation. And this weekend, the government of Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki said that sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni in the neighborhoods of Baghdad has declined by more than 75 percent in the last 12 months. And yet here we are again, another plan for retreat and defeat in Iraq.

And it is not just the official sources that say we have made progress. The Associated Press just reported, ``Twilight brings traffic jams to the main shopping district of this once affluent corner of Baghdad, and hundreds of people stroll past well-stocked vegetable stands, bakeries, and butcher shops.''

The Washington Post recently wrote, ``The number of attacks against U.S. soldiers has fallen to levels not seen since before the February 2006 bombing of a Shia shrine in Samarra that touched off waves of sectarian killing.''

And the New York Times noted just last week, `` `American forces have routed al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the Iraqi militant network from every neighborhood in Baghdad,' a top general reported today, `allowing American troops involved in the surge to depart as planned.' ''

I urge my colleagues to reject again this Democrat plan for withdrawal as a part of the supplemental appropriations bill, but I urge my countrymen to give our soldiers a chance. Freedom and stability are beginning to take hold in Iraq. We cannot lose faith in ourselves or in our fighting men and women.

It would be Winston Churchill who exhorted his own people as follows: ``Nothing can save England if she will not save herself. If we lose faith in ourselves, in our capacity to guide and govern, if we lose our will to live, then indeed our story is told. If, while on all sides foreign nations are every day asserting a more aggressive and militant nationalism by arms and trade, we remain paralyzed by our own theoretical doctrines or plunged into the stupor of after-war exhaustion, then indeed all the croakers predict will come true and our ruin will be swift and final.'' So said the man who saved western civilization.

To my countrymen and to my colleagues, I say again: Reject this legislation, give our soldiers in a widening and undeniable success in Iraq a chance, and we will all, Republicans and Democrats, celebrate some day a free and democratic Iraq that will be a legacy for our children and our grandchildren for generations to come.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this Iraq supplemental bridge fund. While no one is declaring victory in Iraq, the tide is turning. But nothing changes here on Capitol Hill. And here we go again, by some estimates, the 41st effort by the majority to come to this floor and force a precipitous and reckless withdrawal of forces from Iraq, another Democrat plan for redeployment from Iraq tying $50 billion in necessary combat funds for our troops to a Democrat plan for withdrawal.

With unambiguous evidence of progress on the ground filling the newspapers of America, the Democrats in Congress seem to have decided to add denial to their plan of retreat and defeat in Iraq. And the newspapers speak for themselves.

The Washington Post last week wrote, ``The number of attacks against U.S. soldiers has fallen to levels not seen since before the February 2006 bombing of a Shia shrine in Samarra that touched off waves of sectarian killing.'' The death toll of American troops in October fell to 39, the lowest since March 2006.

And on Thursday last, The New York Times noted, `` `American forces have routed al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the Iraqi militant network, from every neighborhood in Iraq,' a top general said today, `allowing American troops involved in the surge to depart as planned.' ''

The Washington Times would say, ``Responding to the good news, Speaker Pelosi has unveiled her newest legislative strategy to damage the war efforts. House Democrats this week,'' they wrote, ``will try to enact a bill calling for immediately beginning to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. The surrender language will be attached to a 4-month, $50 billion funding.''

``The contrast could hardly be more striking,'' they said. ``American soldiers performing heroically and successfully, risking their lives on the battlefield in Iraq, Speaker Pelosi and the Democrat leadership by contrast look for ways to advertise American weakness to the enemy.''

And I say from my heart, with great respect to the good and patriotic Americans with whom I differ on this point, I urge my colleagues to reject this Democrat plan for withdrawal. But I also urge my countrymen to give our soldiers a chance. I know things have not always gone as we had all hoped in Iraq.

In my role as the ranking member of the Middle East Subcommittee and before, I have traveled to this war-torn country five times over the last 4\1/2\ years. I have seen success and I have seen less than success. I have seen advance and I have seen failure. But today, we are seeing hope spring. Freedom and stability are beginning to take hold in Iraq. And I say from my heart, we cannot lose faith in ourselves. We cannot lose faith in freedom. We must reject this latest plan for retreat and defeat.