Pelosi: House to Go It Alone on Iraq
EmailABC News’ Dean Norland Reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., said Friday that the House can no longer wait for the Senate to pass legislation to change the direction of the war in Iraq.
"We in the House cannot confine our aspirations to changing the direction in Iraq to what might be possible today in the United States Senate," Pelosi told reporters at her weekly on-camera briefing.
The speaker further explained that those in favor of redeploying U.S. troops from Iraq will "appeal to the American people from the House of Representatives in a way that is less dependent on what is legislatively possible in the United States Senate."
While it takes sixty-votes to even proceed to debate on a bill in the Senate, Pelosi said of the House, "we can’t go as slow as that ship."
The speaker declined to say if any of the bills the House will consider as part of its go-it-alone strategy will contain specific dates to pull troops out of Iraq.
Three of the bills the House will consider next week concern the Iraq war.
One will require that the administration provide Congress with a detailed plan for redeploying troops out of Iraq. Another will deal with military contractors working in the was zone. A third will deal with increasing the independence of inspectors general so there is a better handle on how U.S. reconstruction money is being spent in Iraq.
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When are the Democrats in the House and Senate going to stop this Circus and get the 12 FY 2008 appropriations bills to the President? The fiscal year starts Monday.
Democrat Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL) called passing spending bills “The most fundamental job Congress is expected to do.” “We won’t try to argue that Appropriations Bills are sexy. Just that they are the guts of government – and that failure to attend to them is an abandonment of Responsibility.”
Posted by: carl | September 28, 2007, 2:05 pm 2:05 pm
Congress, both House and Senate, have no stomach for the Appropriations job that should be done! I.E. deny Mr Bush any funds for Iraq except what is required for present operations and a guarantee to cover with Emergency Appropriations the expense of IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL BEGINNING NOW. Everything else is just a continuation of the financial rape of the American Public by the Republicans stonewalling the will of, for and by the people!
Posted by: TVCASTER | September 28, 2007, 4:29 pm 4:29 pm
Rep Pelosi is an ineffective leader of the House. Pelosi has not been able to achieve any of the goals she stated when becoming Speaker of the House. I really wish that Pelosi would stop her war of words with the President and get America’s business accomplished.
Now Pelosi is going to waste the House time on going it alone (The House) with votes to end the war, when she knows that the efforts will be a waste of time because the Senate does not have the will to tie the military’s hand in conducting the war.
Where was Pelosi during the Veitnam War?
Was she at home doing drugs, protesting tthe war, and raising her children? I guess Pelosi is not capable of learning ffrom past mistakes. War goals are not aachieved when the US has over 400 hhundred generals micromanaging the eefforts Washington D.C.
Posted by: Kevin | September 28, 2007, 6:18 pm 6:18 pm
Mrs Speaker: While there were some mistakes made in Iragi Freedom, I beleive what we are doing is right. We are fighting against terrorists and liberating people who have been oppressed for years. You say we shall withdraw. Then you should give us answers about how to complete these two tasks.
Posted by: Bud Smith | September 28, 2007, 10:07 pm 10:07 pm
Bud Smith: We are NOT fighting the terrorists from 911 in Iraq!!!!!! We should have wiped them out in Afganistan! What part of that do you not understand???? WHY WON”T BUSH HELP FUND MEDICAL CARE FOR OUR CHILDREN BUT INSTEAD WILL SPEND BILLIONS FUNDING IRAQ”S PEOPLE!!!!!
The longer people like you continue to vote in these stubborn republicans, the more money and longer we will waste in Iraq instead of caring for our own citizens and fighting the real terrorists from 911!!
Posted by: moderateistheway | September 29, 2007, 12:13 am 12:13 am
70% of Americans want out of Iraq and want to spend that money in Afganistan and the Pakistan border instead (where the Al Queda stronghold is). Our president is ignoring the American people. He is a DICTATOR
Posted by: moderateistheway | September 29, 2007, 12:17 am 12:17 am
Pelosi has violated the Constitution and committed a federal offense by attempting to negotiate a treaty with a foreign nation. She is a felon who ignores the Constitution she swore to uphold. I don’t care any more about her opinion than I would any other criminal. She should be in jail, not in office.
Posted by: Royce | September 29, 2007, 12:25 am 12:25 am
Gee, she’s trying to open dialogue with other countries in the middle east region to help settle issues there…wow, I guess if conversation is criminal….ROYCE: You don’t make any sense. Bush NEVER even bothers to have dialogue with other countries, and LOOK at the horrible situation we’re in now.
Posted by: moderateistheway | September 29, 2007, 12:49 am 12:49 am
moderateistheway — No person regardless of elected position or financial status, regardless or cause or reason should violate law, certainly not the Constitution, and get away with it. If any person of any party had violated such provisions while the opposing party was in power there would be charges filed. … There are many laws and some parts of the Constitution that I don’t like. I obey them until they are changed. If Pelosi doesn’t like certain laws or provisions of the Constitution she should work to have them changed, she is certainly in a position to try. Until then no person should be above the law of the land, certainly not the Constitution. President, Speaker of the House, Senator, even you and me. Without law we have anarchy. Neither party want’s that.
Posted by: Royce | September 29, 2007, 3:14 pm 3:14 pm
What do we want? END THE WAR!
When do we want it? NOW!
What do we want? END THE WAR!
When do we want it? NOW!
END THE WAR NOW! END THE WAR NOW!
Posted by: Wm | September 29, 2007, 6:24 pm 6:24 pm