Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I have been on the floor for a long time this morning. I will address two major points I keep hearing because it is…”

“I have been on the floor for a long time this morning. I will address two major points I keep hearing because it is important that we refute those points. First, we are not setting a deadline. We are not withdrawing troops. The Byrd-Warner amendment says we are voting to make the decision, after plenty of time for the President and our allies, consulting with Congress, to make a plan. We are setting a timetable in which we would have the opportunity to set a plan, and that timetable will probably be October or December of next year. Then after we have a plan from the President, we will have a vote on that plan and on the long-term strategy. Every time Congress exercises its responsibility to do what it is required to do under the Constitution, which is declare war and support the Army and the Navy, the administration and many on the other side say: What kind of signal does that send? What kind of signal does that send to our allies? What kind of signal does that send to that terrible tyrant Milosevic? No. 2, they say setting a deadline is irresponsible. I will answer both of those questions. We are sending a message. We are sending a message to our allies and to President Milosevic. It is a clear message, and it says, America is going to lead. America is going to come in and bring all the parties to the table, and we are going to formulate a policy. We are going to lead.”