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I’d like to hear what you think. I think we must win in Iraq. But be that as it may… how can we “strongly support our troops” and at the same time, not offer an exit plan? And what do you think “unions”, “vote counts”, “the sound of money”, and “jobs shipped overseas” have to do with this very crucial decision about the war? What do you think the “two most essential questions of our time” are? (See highlighted below)

Mr. Speaker:
My name is Steve Kagen – and I’m from Appleton, Wisconsin. I am a father, husband, son, community leader and a doctor who has cared for thousands of military veterans during the past 30 years.

And I ask all of you, what kind of nation are we?
And in which direction shall we move?
During these past several days, our nation benefited from listening to the views of several hundred elected representatives from every region of this great country about our ongoing involvement in Iraq.

And during these past several months, I’ve been listening to the people I was sent here to represent – the fiscally responsible and socially progressive citizens of northeast Wisconsin. People in Wisconsin, like so many elsewhere, voted for positive change and a new direction – not more of the same.

Our new congressional class of 2006 has given America hope again. We are – in spirit and in name – “America’s Hope.” And I am proud to be associated with these bright and talented individuals. In many ways, we really are America’s hope for positive change.

I rise today, in support of our troops and their families, to encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of House Concurrent Resolution #63. For it is the first step in bringing an end to our costly involvement in the senseless civil war between the Sunni and Shia peoples.

Like everyone, I strongly support our troops, but I cannot support the president's poor judgment in promoting violence instead of diplomacy. The president has been wrong in every decision he has made in Iraq. Indeed, four prior escalations have failed, and his current plan makes no sense to me or to the generals who know best.

The reality is this: it was poor judgment that led us into war.

It's time to take a different course, for the path we are now on is morally unacceptable. Just look at the facts: more than 650,000 Iraqi civilians dead; Over 3,000 American heroes - gone forever; over 20,000 of our troops maimed for life, many with scars we will never see, at an economic cost that may reach $2 trillion.

Make no mistake. We must do whatever it takes to defend America and keep hostilities from our shores. What we need is a tough and smart national security policy. President Bush got the tough part right - now it is time to be smart.

This non-binding resolution has been criticized as "not tough enough" from one side and "too weak" from the other. But I am convinced it offers us the opportunity to ask the two most essential questions of our time:

What kind of nation are we?
And in which direction shall we move?

What kind of nation are we …
When a president takes us to war based on lies and deceptions;
When our energy policy is decided behind closed doors; and when, in our free elections, all the votes are not counted?
What kind of nation are we ... When elections are determined not by better ideas, but by the sounds of money;
When students plead for help but unfunded mandates prevent teachers from answering?
What kind of nation will we be ... When all our manufacturing and engineering jobs are shipped overseas;
When workers lose their right to form effective unions;
When our government closes its eyes to global warming?

What kind of nation are we, and in which direction shall we move? Let's begin to work together and take a different path. A path where people come first, ahead of economic theories, ahead of profit and loss statements, ahead of the politics of more of the same.
When we put people ahead of theories and political calculations, we will begin to see a different world.

We will see that we must begin to solve our differences by means other than by making war. For war is our greatest human failure.

This is not an idealistic sentiment, but a realistic assessment Of the chronicle of horrors witnessed every day in Iraq, and our own experiences here at home, in New York City, in Virginia, in Pennsylvania and in Oklahoma City. We must teach our children, and our leaders alike, that in the end, diplomacy defeats violence. We must begin to think differently in America. As we set a new example of hope for the world, and the beginning of a new American era.

By working together, we will build a better future for all of us - beginning right here and right now.

Like the new congressional class of 2006 - America's hope - I support our troops, but not the president's failed policy.

I encourage my colleagues to join the people of Wisconsin and vote yes on this important resolution.

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