Heath Shuler: “earlier this week, we entered the fifth year of the war in Iraq. Throughout that this Congress has provided the…”

“earlier this week, we entered the fifth year of the war in Iraq. Throughout that this Congress has provided the President with all the resources needed to wage this war. However, this body failed to provide any of the oversight he needed. Today, this Congress will correct that lack of oversight, while still providing our troops the funding they need and our military leaders the flexibility they require. Today we say an open-ended commitment to this war is no longer acceptable. We say that we will no longer grant the President a blank check. The war in Iraq has already lasted longer than World War I, World War II, and the Civil War. Continuing this war in the same manner with no accountability from the Administration or requirements on the Iraqi government is unacceptable. Today, we stand up for our men and women in uniform; we honor our veterans, and we begin a new course to securing Iraq by passing H.R. 1591, the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health and Iraq Accountability Act. Passing this emergency funding guarantees our troops will have the equipment and resources they need. This bill demands that our troops are fully mission capable and meet the readiness standards set by the Department of Defense before we send them to war. And this bill demands the Iraqis get off the sidelines and begin fighting for their country. The people of Western North Carolina sent me to Congress to ask the tough questions and demand accountability on this war.”