- Anti-War leader delivers 200th floor speech against the occupation of Iraq -

Washington, DC - The first Member of Congress to call upon President Bush to develop a plan to bring the troops home from Iraq, and a co-founder of the Out of Iraq Caucus, Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) took to the House floor today to mark an anti-war milestone - her 200th floor speech against the occupation of Iraq:

“Madam Speaker, I rise today for the 200th time in this chamber to express my disgust and dismay with our nation’s current policy in Iraq…and to call on the President of the United States to bring our troops home,” Woolsey said as she addressed her colleagues.  “Forty-nine months after this policy was launched, we’re still being told to be patient, that progress is just around the corner, that all our sacrifices will somehow be repaid…but all that just amounts to desperate spin, and the American people aren’t buying it.”

Having opposed the war from the start, Woolsey became the first Member of Congress to call for a withdrawal from Iraq back in January 2005.  She has continued to lead Congressional opposition to the occupation, and has been relentless in her efforts to confront President Bush on his failed Iraq policy.  Tuesday marked the 200th speech that Woolsey has given since January 2005, taking to the floor almost every day that the Congress has been in session over the past two years.

“We have sacrificed more than enough - in lives, in treasure, in national stature and credibility - for a mistake’ ideological pipe dream,” Woolsey said.  “It’s time for our leaders to hear the frustration of the American people with this shameful, wasteful, futile policy.  It’s time to end this occupation.  It’s time to bring our troops home.”