Washington, DC – President Bush announced during his speech to the nation last night that, “We will form a new, bipartisan working group that will help us come together across party lines to win the war on terror. This group will meet regularly with me and my administration; it will help strengthen our relationship with Congress.” In doing so, the President said he was “acting on the good advice of Senator Joe Lieberman and other key members of Congress.”
It was Senators Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) who proposed a bipartisan Iraq consultative group to President Bush. They announced their proposal during a press event on Capitol Hill in December. Senators Lieberman and Collins also spoke with President Bush about the group during a meeting at the White House last week. The Senators proposed that the group would serve as a forum for bipartisan consultation on new policy ideas for Iraq and be the focal point for regular consultation with administration representatives on the conduct of the war in Iraq.
“I am pleased that President Bush is acting on our proposal to bring together a group of bipartisan lawmakers who will consult directly with the White House on Iraq policy,” said Senator Collins. “Iraq is in crisis. The current strategy in Iraq has failed to achieve the goal of a peaceful, stable democracy. We need to consider a new path and we need to do so working together. The Iraq working group will provide a bipartisan forum for key members of the legislative and executive branch to come together to discuss their views on this critical policy change.”
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