Today, the House began it’s marathon 36 hour debate on the Democrat’s resolution to disapprove of the President’s plan to add 21,000 US troops to the fight in Iraq. Congressman Bill Shuster opposed the resolution on the House Floor this afternoon.
“Instead of offering any real alternatives, the Democrats’ have drafted a nonbinding resolution that rejects the President’s plan to reinforce our troops and give the Iraqi Security Forces the assistance they need to secure their fledgling democracy.”
“This resolution does not move us forward. It does not bring us one step toward victory. It does nothing more than return us to the status quo,” Shuster said.
“What this resolution does show the American people is that the Democrats, yet again, for all of their rhetoric have no plan and no alternative to fight Islamic extremism. This is a critical time for our involvement in Iraq and this resolution does noting but embolden our enemies and send a message to our troops that their government is weak-kneed in its support of their mission,” Shuster added.
The Democrat’s resolution, H.Con.Res.63 is nonbinding, which means that it does not have the power of law. Instead, it expresses the will of the House of Representatives. Earlier in the month, the Senate brought a similar resolution that failed to reach the requisite number of votes to begin debate. The House is expected to debate the resolution today and vote on Thursday, allowing each Member 5 minutes to speak during the debate.
Video of Congressman Shuster’s floor statement can be viewed by clicking on the following links:
For high resolution video: http://www.house.gov/shuster/video/iraq-high.wmv
For low resolution video: http://www.house.gov/shuster/video/iraq-low.wmv
