On March 17, by a vote of 327 to 93, the House passed a resolution (H.Res. 557) which recognized the liberation of the people of Iraq and praised the valiant efforts of the U.S. armed forces and Coalition forces.
The resolution, which came one year after the commencement of the war, stated that the United States and the world are safer now that Saddam Hussein has been removed from power in Iraq. It also commended the Iraqi people for their courage under the previous regime and for the adoption of Iraq's interim constitution.
Republicans, who saw this resolution as fair and balanced, engaged in more than seven hours of debate over it with Democrats who were bitterly against it. "There is no question that Saddam Hussein endangered world security. Trusting the intentions of a man who started two wars, gassed his own people, and supported international terrorism would have been grossly irresponsible," said Rep. David Dreier (R.-Calif.)
For many Democrats, however, this seemingly simple resolution was in reality a premeditated political plug for President George W. Bush-yet another Republican ruse to mislead the American people. Claiming that the resolution was another example "pure political deception" tainted with the administration's "spin," Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D.-Hawaii) and many other liberals attempted to deflate the resolution.
Democrats also complained that their party was not consulted prior to the formulation of the resolution. "This resolution is more about what the Republican leadership wants us to forget about the past year: the costs, the bloated contracts, no weapons, no ties to al Qaeda, the flawed intelligence, the wounded and the dead," said Rep. Jim McGovern (D.-Mass.).
"I rise in opposition to this politically motivated resolution because it is a farce and anyone who says otherwise is too blinded by politics to see the truth. The only mushroom cloud resulting from the war in Iraq is that represented by the Bush Administration's barrage of deception and lies," said Rep. Robert Wexler (D.-Fla.). He further elaborated that President Bush is a self-made "war President" and that he created the pretext for war in Iraq.
Focusing on negative aspects of the war on Iraq, including charges that U.S. troops are "under-armed," receiving less than acceptable health benefits and that the war is mimicking Vietnam, Democrats lambasted Republicans and complained about the consequences of war. Many Democrats-much like the Spaniards-seemed more willing to bow to terrorism than take a stand against it.
Republicans, however, remained firm in support of the resolution. "This stunning transformation [of Iraq] is the very essence of the war on terror and let us not permit the rhetoric of an election year to obscure this fundamental truth," said Rep. Katharine Harris (R.-Fla.). "We were compelled to act," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R.-Fla.)
A "yes" vote was a vote in support of the resolution recognizing the improvements in Iraq and the courageous efforts of the U.S. armed forces and Coalition forces. A "no" vote was a vote against the resolution.
| FOR THE RESOLUTION: 327 | AGAINST THE RESOLUTION: 93 |
| REPUBLICANS FOR: 222 Aderholt Akin Bachus Baker Ballenger Barrett (SC) Bartlett (MD) Barton (TX) Bass Beauprez Bereuter Biggert Bilirakis Bishop (UT) Blackburn Blunt Boehlert Boehner Bonilla Bonner Bono Boozman Bradley (NH) Brady (TX) Brown (SC) Brown-Waite, Ginny Burgess Burns Burr Burton (IN) Buyer Calvert Camp Cannon Cantor Capito Carter Castle Chabot Chocola Coble Cole Collins Cox Crane Crenshaw Cubin Culberson Cunningham Davis, Jo Ann Davis, Tom Deal (GA) DeLay DeMint Diaz-Balart, L. Diaz-Balart, M. Doolittle Dreier Duncan Dunn Ehlers Emerson English Everett Feeney Ferguson Flake Foley Forbes Fossella Franks (AZ) Frelinghuysen Gallegly Garrett (NJ) Gerlach Gibbons Gilchrest Gillmor Gingrey Goode Goodlatte Goss Granger Graves Green (WI) Greenwood Gutknecht Hall Harris Hart Hastert Hastings (WA) Hayes Hayworth Hefley Hensarling Herger Hobson Hoekstra Hostettler Houghton Hulshof Hunter Hyde Isakson Issa Istook Jenkins Johnson, Sam Johnson (CT) Johnson (IL) Jones (NC) Keller Kelly Kennedy (MN) King (IA) King (NY) Kingston Kirk Kline Knollenberg Kolbe LaHood Latham LaTourette Lewis (CA) Lewis (KY) Linder LoBiondo Lucas (OK) Manzullo McCotter McCrery McHugh McInnis McKeon Mica Miller, Gary Miller (FL) Miller (MI) Moran (KS) Murphy Musgrave Myrick Nethercutt Neugebauer Ney Northup Norwood Nunes Nussle Osborne Ose Otter Oxley Pearce Pence Peterson (PA) Petri Pickering Pitts Platts Pombo Porter Portman Pryce (OH) Putnam Quinn Radanovich Ramstad Regula Rehberg Renzi Reynolds Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rogers (MI) Rohrabacher Ros-Lehtinen Royce Ryan (WI) Ryun (KS) Saxton Schrock Sensenbrenner Sessions Shadegg Shaw Shays Shimkus Shuster Simpson Smith (MI) Smith (NJ) Smith (TX) Souder Stearns Sullivan Sweeney Tancredo Taylor (NC) Terry Thomas Thornberry Tiahrt Tiberi Toomey Turner (OH) Upton Vitter Walden (OR) Walsh Wamp Weldon (FL) Weller Whitfield Wicker Wilson (NM) Wilson (SC) Wolf Young (AK) Young (FL) DEMOCRATS FOR: 105 |
REPUBLICANS AGAINST: 2 Leach Paul DEMOCRATS AGAINST: 90 INDEPENDENTS AGAINST: 1 |
NOT VOTING: 7
| REPUBLICANS (4): | DEMOCRATS (3): | INDEPENDENTS (0) |
| Sherwood Simmons Tauzin Weldon (PA) |
Hoeffel Kucinich Smith (WA) |
ANSWERED PRESENT: 7
| REPUBLICANS (0): | DEMOCRATS (7): | INDEPENDENTS (0) |
| Carson (IN) Davis (AL) Davis (CA) Johnson, E. B. Lantos Meehan Waxman |
