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December 6, 2006, 1:37 pm
By
Iowa GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley
This issue is important to farmers across the country. Including Agriculture in this rule just doesn’t meet the common sense test. Farmers can’t control dust. This amendment will ensure the protection of these farmers, so they can go about their daily responsibilities of feeding the world without the fear of prosecution.
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December 6, 2006, 1:30 pm
By
Va. Dem. Rep. Jim Moran
The Iraq Study Group has confirmed what some of us predicted four years ago. Many foreign policy experts warned that violence and instability would result if we toppled Saddam without a plan to win the peace. But as history shows, those concerns went unheeded.
Coupled with the Bush Administration's post-invasion mistakes, such as disbanding the Iraqi military, we have reached the current untenable situation. Clearly, the President's “stay the course
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December 6, 2006, 12:52 pm
By
Pa. Dem. Rep. Robert Brady
On October 10, 2002, I joined 125 of my Democratic colleagues and 6 Republicans in opposing the resolution authorizing the Invasion of Iraq. I'd carefully reviewed the arguments and evidence offered in support of the war. But, I couldn't agree with the proponents. I've never regretted that vote. We were misled into the war and almost 3000 of our troops and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians have paid the ultimate price for our mistake.
Just over one year ago, my friend Jack Murtha came under withering fire for his courageous call for withdrawal from the quagmire Iraq has become. Now, a year and an election later, the Iraq Study Group has vindicated Murtha's position.
I thoroughly agree with the Group's conclusion that "current U.S. policy is not working" and with Co-chairman James A. Baker III's statement "We do not recommend a 'stay the course' solution." And, even before the report was released, outgoing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld released the cover letter to his now famous leaked memo, in which he states: "In my view it is time for a major adjustment" in Iraq, including beginning withdrawal of troops. It certainly took him long enough.
Unfortunately, thousands of brave Americans and innocent Iraqis have died or been maimed during the time it took Republicans to admit what the rest of us knew was true. The sooner we can get US troops out of Iraq and over the horizon, the better.
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December 6, 2006, 11:57 am
By
Calif. Dem. Rep. Tom Lantos
This morning a number of Congressional leaders were briefed by the Iraq Study Group, headed by James Baker and our colleague, former Congressman Lee Hamilton. We were impressed with the scope of the much-anticipated report by the Baker-Hamilton commission, but it remains to be seen if their diligent work has a long-term impact among the key players in the Administration.
On November 7 the Administration was dramatically forced to sit up and pay attention to Americans' anger and frustration about its failed policies in Iraq; I only hope that the White House will find the wisdom to carefully consider the Baker-Hamilton commission's advice now. This advice is fully in line with what Democratic Congressional leaders have been telling the White House for many months: Training and support of Iraqi forces must be stepped up, and it is time to start the process of redeploying the U.S. troops currently assigned there.
I commend the Commission for its recommendation that we engage all regional players. I firmly believe in conducting dialogue even with people with whom we disagree. That is why I have met with the current leaders of Syria and North Korea -- and why I have repeatedly and unsuccessfully sought a visa to visit Iran. As we engage, we will seek common ground, but we must remain steadfast in our core values and commitments. We will not bargain over nuclear arms, or terrorism, or the security of the state of Israel, or Lebanese sovereignty, or the investigation of the Hariri and Gemayel assassinations.
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December 6, 2006, 11:38 am
By
Wyo. GOP Sen. Craig Thomas
I first instituted the National Parks Fee Demonstration Program back in 1997, which had widespread support, and even in my bill I cautioned against expanding the program to other federal lands, mainly because of what we’re seeing now – a fee that doesn’t put money back into the site being impacted. Parks are a completely different animal than other federal lands.
I had opposed the recreation fee being expanded beyond the national parks and now my worst fears are being realized – higher fees with no guarantee that the money is going back to the site being impacted.
An $80 fee is certainly higher than what folks should have to pay to recreate on federal lands. My concerns about the price of the pass are echoed in a study conducted by the University of Wyoming, which showed very little tolerance for a pass priced above $70.
If there’s a budget problem in our land management agencies, let’s get to the root of it – address it head on – and not put budget shortfalls on the backs of recreational visitors.
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December 6, 2006, 11:21 am
By
Wyo. GOP Sen. Mike Enzi
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December 6, 2006, 11:04 am
By
Wash. Dem. Rep. Adam Smith
The Iraq Study Group’s report supports many things I have said previously: that "stay the course" is not an option, that the Iraqis must take responsibility for their country, and that regional diplomacy and a political solution are our only real options in Iraq. I hope the President will listen to the bipartisan, highly qualified members of the Iraq Study Group and move past his refusal to listen to informed, credible voices in Congress.
When asked yesterday if we were winning in Iraq, Robert Gates, the President's Secretary of Defense nominee, told the Senate Armed Services Committee simply “no.
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December 6, 2006, 9:37 am
By
Mo. Dem. Rep. Ike Skelton
I am pleased that the Iraq Study Group has been able to reach agreement. They have undertaken a careful, thorough assessment of the situation in Iraq, and I look forward to reviewing their findings with the same level of consideration. The Armed Services Committee should hear testimony from this group, from those involved in the Administration's own review and others.
We need to look carefully at options that will encourage the Iraqis to move forward politically, engage leaders in the region and allow for the redeployment of American forces as soon as possible. A significant part of this is the need to more rapidly train and equip the Iraqi Security Forces. Central to all recommendations must be the Iraqi government making political, economic and national security progress.
Because these recommendations have bipartisan support from the ISG, I am encouraged that bipartisan consensus might be achieved within Congress and with the Administration, as well.
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December 6, 2006, 8:00 am
By
Ohio GOP Rep. Paul Gillmor
Today, the Iraq Study Group (ISG) released its report about our progress and challenges in Iraq. Congress chartered the Iraq Study Group to advise the administration on our course of action in Iraq and I am satisfied that we have received thoughtful recommendations from the panel. From the start of our engagement in Iraq, I have said I wanted to see the United States troops out of Iraq as soon as a stable democratic government has been established. Today's report confirms our successes and highlights what challenges lie ahead for the Middle East. Bringing democracy and freedom to an area which has only known tyranny and oppression is not a mission which can be taken lightly but it is a goal which must be achieved.
I intend to consider and take every proposal seriously. While all may not agree with each of the proposals made by the commission, they mark a historic moment of bipartisanship and real discussion about the course of our nation. This is a time for Congress to come together as one body- not as Republicans or Democrats- to move forward with a strategy for success in the Middle East.
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December 6, 2006, 6:02 am
By
Texas Dem. Rep. Henry Cuellar
Throughout the last decade, I have watched as trade transformed communities in Texas from areas of marginal business activity to some of the most rapidly developing counties in the nation. My hometown of Laredo now serves as the largest inland port in North America and takes in 60% of all North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) traffic. But NAFTA and our current trade agreements are not enough. If we want to remain competitive and continue to improve Americans' lives, we must keep on pushing for deeper trade liberalization. Thomas Friedman's recent writing on keeping America competitive really strikes a chord with me. He wrote, "If globalization were a sport, it would be a 100-meter dash, over and over and over. And no matter how many times you win, you have to race again the next day."
Racing and winning means not only creating jobs here at home but also ensuring that American consumers have access to affordable imports. With this in mind, the Congress must quickly renew key trade preferences for our allies in the developing world. In this period of post-election bipartisan cooperation, I believe that the renewal of trade preferences is something members of Congress from both sides of the aisle can agree on. As the Washington Post editorialized yesterday morning. "It shouldn't matter whether you're a conservative or liberal, for globalization or against: Some trade bills are so obviously beneficial and unobjectionable that there's no excuse for letting them languish."
The expiration of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) on December 31 makes action particularly urgent. While completed free trade agreements with Peru and Colombia and future negotiations with Ecuador and Bolivia are considered, we must act quickly in extending preferences to all four countries. The failure to renew these preferences would not only create economic chaos in Latin America but also would raise prices for U.S. consumers and hurt U.S. companies working in these countries. In the increasingly globalized world in which we live, damage to U.S. companies operating abroad will have repercussions on our own workers here at home.
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