Rep. Waters opened the press conference by offering best wishes for PDA National Advisory Board member Cindy Sheehan who was about to stand trial for civil disobedience at the federal courthouse a few blocks away. PDA Chair Mimi Kennedy, Executive Director Tim Carpenter and Political Director Kevin Spidel dashed from a vigil with Cindy to attend the announcement this morning.

Los Angeles Congresswoman Waters listed the staggering costs of the war - $250 Billion, more than 2070 US Troops killed, 15,000 injured, 400 limbs amputated. She pledged to examine and analyze the "distorted" information which led us into war, and - with our help - lead us out of Iraq. She recounted that in only six months, the Out of Iraq Caucus has grown to include 70 House members of various points of view, but united in the desire to formulate a strategy to lead America out of Iraq: "All of us want out of Iraq."

Our contingent met with our friend Rep. Kucinich who put a perfect name on this effort, calling this "an Honorable Discharge from Iraq" including both the subject matter and the legislative effort at hand. Rep. Waters announced that Rep. Barney Frank will manage the effort to allow open debate on Iraq policy through a "discharge petition" on House Joint Resolution 55. The petition would allow 218 Members of Congress to move the item directly to the House Floor for open discussion without requiring committee support. Rep. Frank explained this step would not be necessary "if the Republican [House] Leadership had any respect for democracy."

Resolution co-author Rep. Abercrombie invited all Republicans, Democrats and the lone House independent Bernie Sanders to join with the Representatives in the room supporting an "open rule" - allowing any member to offer any amendment to the resolution. He presented his bipartisan approach as "an opportunity for Republicans to join with us," and called it a "direct vehicle available to any member [of the House to move an issue] to the floor" and anticipated "lines of people at the Clerk's desk" seeking to support the effort. He called this a "kick off" and an opportunity for the American people to demand accountability.

Rep. Frank said, "The House ought to be able to have a debate" on what he called the "single most important issue" facing the Congress and the nation, and explained this discharge petition would permit the debate. He dismissed President Bush's claims that debate on Iraq policy was "irresponsible" and rejected Bush's excuse for misleading the Congress and the American because "other people were wrong too" as a "so's your mother defense."

Congressman Kucinich demolished Bush's other main talking point, that Democrats have no grounds to question his dismal Iraq policies because they supported it. Kucinich countered the spin with the hard numbers: "Two-thirds of current House Democrats [and] one-half of current Senate Democrats" opposed the resolution empowering Bush to use force. Kucinich declared that Bush can "no longer claim he was misled and continue to mislead." He noted that the American People do not support the war or this president, and he called this, "the beginning of the end of the war."

Rep. Marcy Kaptur said, "Our goal is to have a conversation with the American People." She pointed to three keys to this discussion. First, "Moral Legitimacy [the USA has] lost that moral edge" starting with the revelations of atrocities at Abu Gharib, after which "causalities doubled." She stressed that in the military slogan "Honor, Duty, Country - honor comes first." Second, the Bush Administration is setting up a "parallel system" of mercenaries - thousands of "contractors" who conduct the "questioning" of prisoners and undermine our military. Third, she warned of apparent and rumored plans to "hold up" the Defense Appropriations to link the spending on the War to spending for all agencies and services - an effort to "hold the entire nation hostage" to the Bush war policies.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee called this an "unconstitutional war" and called HJRes 55 the "fix it resolution." She said this is Vietnam reincarnated, and assured there is "no division" between this effort and the troops. She said this effort is all about having our people return from Iraq "with dignity and success." This will "say to the American People, 'your voices are heard.'" She told of her visits to the troops in Iraq, and hospitals in Germany and the US people she called "victims of war" and described one such victim, a service woman "burned from head to toe" who was only concerned about her mother.

The Congresswoman continued: "The President misled the Congress [with] false and misleading reasons" for the war, and said it's "crucial we have this debate." She rushed off, but ducked back into the room to take PDA Executive Director Tim Carpenter's card. She's depending on PDA - on you - to help force the long overdue debate which will get us out of Iraq.

San Fransisco's Representative Lynn Woolsey - a Co-chair of the House Progressive Caucus - praised activists like us for "putting the starch in the spines" of House Members. She might have recalled the "Backbone Award" PDA gave her for her courage and leadership in that statement. She said it's time the Congress started "hearing the voices of the American People" and pass what she called the "Homeward Bound" Resolution.

Rep. Woolsey has heard our voices. She said this effort began in the House with her amendment to the Defense Authorization requesting the White House articulate some exit plan or strategy. Her measure was defeated, but gained bipartisan support and set the stage for Rep. Barbara Lee's and Rep. Dennis Kucinich's Resolutions of Inquiry.

Rep. Jim McGovern said, "I believe this war was a mistake from the very beginning" and offered pure common sense: "there are two things you can do with a mistake - you can correct it or you can compound it. H J Res 55 is an attempt to correct this mistake by requiring the President to develop and implement a meaningful plan to end our military involvement in Iraq."

It's important to understand that this discharge petition would open the House floor to other efforts including McGovern's "HR 4232 [which would] immediately end funding for the war. Both of these [approaches] are better than 'staying the course,' as the Bush Administration would have us do which would only compound the mistakes we have made in Iraq." McGovern declared Bush's failed approach "unacceptable," and joined with his colleagues offering solutions which will work.

Northern California Congresswoman Barbara Lee - the other Co-chair of the House Progressive Caucus and a close PDA friend - said the White House refuses to respond to questions about the Downing Street Minutes despite signatures from 500,000 Americans and 100 Members of Congress - an effort led by PDA Advisory Board Member Rep. John Conyers, and collected through PDA efforts in league with our allies in the After Downing Street Coalition.

She explained that this discharge petition drive is building on her Resolution of Inquiry. That resolution would have required answers and demanded accountability from the administration. PDA joined with the After Downing Street Coalition leading lobbying efforts on behalf of that Resolution which fell a few votes short. Rep. Lee praised "the organizations present" - by this she meant PDA - for the progress made, and asked us to "keep the heat on."

Most Representatives who spoke made similar requests of us, some frankly stating that conventional wisdom on the Hill says, "don't cosponsor, don't get involved unless voters in your district ask you to." These progressive members of Congress said that the world-wide reputation of the United States is suffering because people around the globe don't believe we're going to ever leave Iraq. They stressed the need for ongoing Congressional efforts - with increasing Republican support - to bar permanent bases and other entanglements with Iraq such as "sweet heart deals" for oil.

It's up to us to mobilize voters across the country to demand their Representatives support this discharge petition and pass the underlying legislation. If this effort succeeds, it's because your efforts will make it happen. Many of these Representatives stood with PDA at our event Tuesday night. They need our help to get America out of Iraq. Let's deliver that help.