Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, on the Senate floor just a few minutes ago, proposed Oct. 11, 2007 as the “expiration date” for the Iraq war.

“It is time to sunset the authorization for the war in Iraq,” she said. “If the president will not bring himself to accept reality, it is time for Congress to bring reality to him.”

A measure by Mrs. Clinton and Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia would end Congress’s use of force authorization five years to the day after the original use of force legislation took effect in 2002.

“I urge my colleagues to join Senator Byrd and me in supporting this effort to require a new authorization resolution for these new times,” she said.

Text of Senator Clinton’s remarks on the Senate floor.

Update: Senator Christopher J. Dodd, who has worked to stake a more aggressive stance on withdrawal than most of the other Democratic candidates, released a statement downplaying the significance of Mrs. Clinton’s measure to deauthorize:

I support the efforts of Senators Byrd and Clinton to de-authorize the war in that we can all agree that the authorization has been de facto null and void because there were no weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein has been out of power for years. While I applaud this effort, sadly, it will not change the President’s course in Iraq. There is only one binding and responsible way to end this war.

He reiterated his support for the Feingold-Reid legislation, which would not only set a withdrawal timeline but also ultimately cut off war funds.