John Yarmuth: “last week this House came together in a bipartisan fashion to address the economic uncertainty that many of our citizens…”

“last week this House came together in a bipartisan fashion to address the economic uncertainty that many of our citizens are facing. President Bush worked with both Democratic and Republican leaders of the House to develop an economic stimulus package that is timely, targeted, and temporary. That plan, which was passed here in the House last week, will help jump-start our economy by putting tax rebates in the hands of 117 million hardworking middle- and lower-income workers. We should be proud of the bipartisanship that made this compromise package possible. I would hope that we could bring that same bipartisanship to bear on the continuing war in Iraq. Last month, the Iraqi defense minister said that his country will not be able to take full control of its security until 2012 and will not be able to defend its borders from outside threats until at least 2018. Democrats do not believe that American troops should be on the ground in Iraq for another decade and neither do the American people. The status quo cannot continue. I would hope that we could continue to work together to bring this war to an end.”