The House votes on the Surge

After 4 days of debate the House of Representatives voted on and passed a resolution opposing President Bush's plan to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq. The Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi summed it up this way:

"The stakes in Iraq are too high to recycle proposals that have little prospect for success."
"The passage of this legislation will signal a change in direction in Iraq that will end the fighting and bring our troops home,"

The vote on the nonbinding measure was 246-182, and within minutes, Democrats said their next move would be to challenge Bush's request for $93 billion in new funds for the Pentagon.

Republican and Vietnam veteran Sam Johnson of Texas pleaded with the House:

"Now it's time to stand up for my friends who did not make it home, and for those who fought and died in Iraq already," he said. "We must not cut funding for our troops. We must stick by them."

The nonbinding resolution that was passed by the House said:

(1) Congress and the American people will continue to support and protect the members of the United States Armed Forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honorably in Iraq; and

(2) Congress disapproves of the decision of President George W. Bush announced on Jan. 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.

Supporters of the Resolution: 229 Democrats, 17 Republicans = 246


Opponents of the Resolution: 2 Democrats 180 Republicans = 182

Speaking for the Democrats Rep. Betty Sutton (D-Oh) made the following speech in support of the resolution:
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=3sxLprNmdcA]