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   Mr. PASCRELL. Madam Speaker, in case anyone was still under the impression that the President was serious about changing the dynamics on the ground in Iraq, they should put all those hopes aside. If the administration gets its way, this President will leave 8,000 more troops in Iraq when he leaves office than were there before the surge last year.

   In 2006, before the President's troop escalation plan, there were 132,000 American troops in Iraq. This summer after five combat brigades come home, there still will be 140,000 troops on the ground.

   There is not going to be a change. Last year the President moved ahead with this troop escalation plan, promising that it would give the Iraq Government the stability to make some of the tough political decisions. As the troop escalation comes to an end, the Iraq Government has failed to bring about any real political progress, and repeated deployments are severely straining our military readiness.

   Madam Speaker, the status quo is not working. We will continue to fight to end this war and head our country in a new direction.

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