Friday, March 23, 2007

House Backs Iraq Timetable


Way to go, House!

WASHINGTON, March 23 — The House of Representatives voted today, by an extremely narrow margin and after an unusually emotional debate, to set a timetable for bringing American troops home from Iraq. (New York Times)

The bill received 218 votes in favor exactly the number to guarantee passage. Democratic leaders predicted beforehand that the outcome would be very close. Nancy Pelosi called the legislation, which took the form of an emergency spending bill, “a giant step to end the war and responsibly redeploy our troops out of Iraq...”

Of course Bush angrily threatened to veto the bill and said he believed it would be sustained.

“Central to our victory today was the unanimous support of our new members of Congress,” Ms. Pelosi told reporters in a news conference after the vote. “They brought to the Congress, fresh from the country, the concerns of the American people. They had a serious impact.”

Representative Patrick Murphy, a Pennsylvania Democrat and a veteran of the Iraq war, urged passage of the legislation on behalf of the 19 soldiers in his command who were killed in the war. “This is our opportunity, this is our chance to lead,” said Mr. Murphy, who is 33.

Proud of you Mr. Murphy!

theteach

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