WASHINGTON - November 16 - Following yesterday’s bipartisan no confidence vote in the Senate on President Bush’s Iraq policy, today, twenty Members of Congress held a press conference to announce the start of a discharge petition on bipartisan legislation authored by Congressman Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC) and Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) to end the war in Iraq.
The discharge petition, a parliamentary tactic used to bring legislation directly to the House floor, was filed today on House Joint Resolution 55, The Homeward Bound Act, a bipartisan bill that sets a start date for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.
Kucinich, one of the authors of H. J. Res. 55, issued the following statement today:
“The momentum in Congress has shifted. With this discharge petition we are saying enough. Enough of the misleading statements, changing rational, smear tactics and disinformation from this Administration. Enough of a failed policy that has cost the lives of over 2,000 American troops. And, enough of a Congress that has shunned its Constitutional duty to hold this Administration responsible and accountable for their failed war and occupation.
“This Congress needs to give America a honorable discharge from Iraq. H. J. Res. 55, and this discharge petition, is the beginning of the end of the war in Iraq. Two-thirds of current House Democrats and half of the current Senate Democrats voted against this war.
“The President cannot claim he was misled as he continues to mislead. The war will end and we will bring our troops home; that much is inevitable. What must be decided is timing and terms. Proponents of the Iraq occupation believe that with more time, troops, appropriations and cost in life, the insurgency will be eliminated. But there are no signs of this happening. All signs point to the opposite. Things are getting worse in Iraq and the mere presence of the United States is causing this to happen.
“H. J. Res. 55 is the only bipartisan bill in the House to end the war in Iraq. It is time for Congress to stand with the American public and demand an end to the war.”
The discharge petition filed today requires the signature of 218 Members of Congress, a majority, in order for the bill to be brought to the House floor for consideration.
http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/1116-03.htm