Politics on the Hudson

Following final passage of a bill that sets a timeline for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, U.S. Rep. John Hall, D-Dover Plains, said President Bush should “listen to the American people in their demand for a new direction.”

Hall described the legislation as “an important milestone in the effort to change course in Iraq” and urged Bush not to veto it.

“The United States Congress is sending to President Bush precisely what the American people have called for: a change of course in Iraq, a timeline for withdrawal, and urgently needed accountability from an administration that has demanded for far too long an open-ended commitment of American troops and lives to a country that does not want us there,” Hall said. “Congress speaks for the American people when we say no more blank checks for Iraq.”