mr. speaker , i yield myself the balance of the time . 
mr. speaker , i have seen these buttons that my colleagues on the other side have been wearing , although i do not see them wearing it this morning , but they wore them last night , that says , debate iraq . 
i just listened to a statement by my friend from massachusetts , and i would say what is it that we are doing right now ? 
we have just gone through a very rigorous debate on the defense appropriations process . 
it was considered under an open amendment process . 
we have gone through the defense authorization process , and we have had a full debate on that . 
every single day on the house floor at least one member stands up to outline his or her position on the issue of iraq . 
we are debating it constantly here , and it is a very healthy and important debate for us to have . 
mr. speaker , as i have been listening to this debate , which has been taking place over the past hour , a name sticks in my mind . 
the name is j.p . 
blecksmith . 
j.p . 
blecksmith is a young marine who was tragically killed in one of the biggest battles in iraq a year ago last month . 
it was the battle of fallujah , and since he died , i have gotten to know his family , and his parents have repeatedly said to me personally , have gone on television and said this , that in the name of their courageous son who is a marine killed in the battle of fallujah , it would be absolutely reprehensible for the united states of america to cut and run , for us to leave iraq on some artificial timetable . 
so , mr. speaker , today is a day of celebration . 
i can not understand why my colleagues would say that the following line is somehow contentious . 
it simply says , while congratulating the iraqi people for this overwhelming success that they had yesterday , congratulating our men and women in uniform and the iraqi security forces and the coalition forces , it says basically what president talabani of iraq has said in a wall street journal editorial . 
the resolution says , setting an artificial timetable for the withdrawal of united states armed forces from iraq or immediately terminating their deployment in iraq and redeploying them elsewhere in the region is fundamentally inconsistent with achieving victory in iraq . 
what is contentious about that ? 
i can not understand why anyone would believe , mr. speaker , that we can not come together with a strong bipartisan vote , making sure that the success that we enjoyed on january 30 and october 15 and just yesterday in iraq is sustained . 
we know that mr. zarqawi has made it very , very clear that , as democracy blossoms , terrorism will come to an end . 
so let us do everything within our power to support this resolution , to support our troops , to support the sustained victory of the people in iraq . 
i urge support of this resolution . 
the material previously referred to by mr. mcgovern xz4002630 is as follows : previous question for h. res. 619 , the rule for h. res. 612 expressing the commitment of the house of representatives to achieving victory in iraq amendment in nature of substitute : strike all after the resolved clause and insert : `` resolved , that upon the adoption of this resolution it shall be in order without intervention of any point of order to consider in the house the resolution ( h. res. 613 ) congratulating the people of iraq on the three national elections conducted in iraq in 2005 . 
the resolution shall be considered as read . 
the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the resolution and the preamble to final adoption without intervening motion or demand for division of the question except : h. res. 613 whereas the people of iraq have consistently and courageously demonstrated their commitment to democracy by participating in three elections in 2005 ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; whereas on january 30 , 2005 , the people of iraq participated in an election for a transitional national assembly ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; whereas all segments of iraqi society actively participated in the approval of a new iraqi constitution through a referendum held on october 15 , 2005 ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; whereas reports indicate that the people of iraq voted in unprecedented and overwhelming numbers in the most recent election , held on december 15 , 2005 , for a new , national parliament that will serve in accordance with the recently-approved iraqi constitution for a four-year term and that represents the first fully sovereign , elected democratic assembly in the history of iraq ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; whereas this remarkable level of participation by the people of iraq in the face of dire threats to their very lives has won the admiration of the world ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; whereas the iraqi elections could not have been conducted without the courage and dedication of the members of the united states armed forces and the armed forces of other nations in iraq , including the members of the security forces of iraq ; and & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; whereas the december 15 , 2005 , election in iraq inspires confidence that a robust , pluralistic democracy that will bring stability to iraqi society is emerging : now , therefore , be it & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; resolved , that the house of representatives -- & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( 1 ) congratulates the people of iraq on the three national elections conducted in iraq in 2005 ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( 2 ) encourages all americans to express support for the people of iraq in their efforts to achieve a free , open , and democratic society ; and ( 3 ) expresses its thanks and admiration to the members of the united states armed forces and the armed forces of other nations in iraq , including the members of the security forces of iraq , whose heroism permitted the iraqi people to vote safely. & lt ; p & gt ; 