Rep. Wasserman Schultz Statement on Resolution Regarding the Escalation of Iraq War

(Washington, DC)  — Early this morning at roughly 12:30 a.m., Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20) made the following remarks regarding House Concurrent Resolution 63 which deals with the escalation of the War in Iraq and is currently being debated in the House of Representatives:

Mr. Speaker, I am going to bring it back down a notch for a minute.

On Tuesday, I had the privilege to spend time with some of our Nation’s finest. I traveled to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and talked with some of our soldiers who dedicated their lives to protect our Nation and gave their hearts, souls and bodies to the cause of freedom.

As I was driving out to the hospital, I reflected upon the changes in Iraq in the year-and-a-half since my first visit to Walter Reed. During that visit, IED was not a regular part of the American vocabulary, Mr. Speaker. Fatalities were shocking. The mounting death toll was disturbing.

Today, there are insurgent attacks almost every day. Iraq has descended into a deadly civil war, and almost every American has become familiar with the term IED and the deadly impact they have on the young men and women that we send to fight for us in this war.

The terms of war that my good friend from Indiana so well knows, the casualties, death, kidnappings, injuries, helicopter crashes, bombs, amputations, good-byes, sorrow and pain have all become commonplace.

We hear that another helicopter was shot down or that three more soldiers died today in Iraq, and soon enough we become numb to the true impact that this war is having on our troops and their families.

These young men and women represent true honor, courage and selflessness. They also represent the incalculable cost of the war, the price tag that is not mentioned, the lives, limbs, hopes and dreams.

They are soldiers like a young man I met Tuesday who was travelling on foot with his convey when an IED exploded, and as he put it, blew him up. He had served in Iraq twice before, and on his third tour of duty, Mr. Speaker, he became a double amputee, lost his arm and leg. Clearly, his total experience will change him completely.

Another young soldier was spending time with his family when I visited. He has a 6-year-old little boy who talked to me excitedly about how his daddy was finally going to come home forever after August. He, too, had two previous tours and fell severely ill this third time. Amazingly, this soldier hopes to go over and finish his tour with his company when he is better.

As a mom of 7-year-old twins, my first thought when meeting this delightful little boy was that his dad had missed half his life so far, half his life. I could not help but worry that if we do not get it right soon in Iraq it will not be long before this little boy and my twins will be part of this conflict.

And finally, there are soldiers like the young man who shared so much with me and who sincerely explained to me that he was actually glad that he was badly injured, as opposed to his gunner, because his gunner had a wife and kids and he did not want his buddy’s family to have to look into his eyes like that. He told me he wants to run for office one day, and our Nation will be better for it.

America’s future depends upon this generation of Americans, but while they fight to protect our country, they are depending on us to protect them. They are counting on us, the United States Congress and this President, to have a plan, a strategy that gets us somewhere and to help get them home and not endlessly commit their lives and their families’ lives to this war.

So, Mr. Speaker, today I join an overwhelming majority of the American people, a bipartisan majority of Congress and some of the President’s own military leaders to raise my voice and to be the voice of the constituents, the thousands of people who I represent in the 20th district of Florida, against escalating this war in Iraq.

But more importantly, I raise my voice for my generation and for all the little boys and girls in America whose mommies and daddies are in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting for this country and for freedom.

This President owes the American people, but more importantly, these brave troops, a strategy that makes sense, that will do the job and that will help get them home. The President’s policy fails that 6-year-old little boy with a heart of gold and a smile that lights up the room who only wants his daddy to come home forever.

I support this resolution because the explanation the President has given the American people is not good enough. I cannot help but think about the way this war is affecting not only my generation, Mr. Speaker, but the generations following mine. They, too, recognize the sacrifices that our men and women in uniform are facing.

Students from two schools in my district, Nob Hill Elementary and Silver Ridge Elementary, made Valentine’s Day cards for the soldiers, and I got a chance to deliver them Tuesday during my visit to Walter Reed. One of these cards reads, the one right here: “Thank you for protecting our country and me. You’re the best. I would never have had the guts to fight with guns anyways. You are my hero. Forever and ever. Get well very, very soon.”

These young children recognize the service and sacrifice that these warriors are making. As Members of Congress, we owe them no less.

It is our responsibility to provide for the common defense, and that includes vigorous debate, informed discussion and responsible public policy.

I support this resolution because it does just that, and Mr. Speaker, I support this resolution because the gentleman from Indiana knows better.

It does not require words to question patriotism. We have had plenty of implication throughout this debate on this floor on the other side of the aisle, and death by a thousand cuts is the same as direct words. It is irresponsible and unconscionable that the other side of the aisle has questioned the patriotism of the Members who disagree.

It is Congress’ job to disagree. It is our role in the system of checks and balances, as our Founding Fathers envisioned them, unfortunately a role that was absent for the last 12 years.