Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, I was absent for votes on Monday, April 7, 2003, as a result of a medical procedure. Had I been present, I would have cast my votes as follows: Rollcall vote No. 111: ``aye''; rollcall vote No. 110: ``aye''; and rollcall vote No. 109: ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, due to the bravery and the magnificent performance of American troops, our Armed Forces will soon win a resounding victory over Saddam Hussein, disarming him and eliminating the threat of his regime. Now that we are on the verge of winning the war, we must now turn our attention to winning the peace.

The morning after our military victory over Saddam, we will wake up to four challenges in Iraq: peacekeeping, humanitarian relief, reconstruction, and governance. How we face those challenges will determine whether we win the peace, win the battle for the hearts and minds of the people of Iraq, enhance our status in the Muslim world, and maintain our credibility as the leader of free and democratic nations.

I fear we could fail to meet those challenges if we pursue an aggressive, antagonistic diplomacy that makes demands of our allies, but does not listen to them. We could fail if we embrace unilateralism and abandon our traditional reliance on multinational action. We could fail if we allow the reality or even the appearance of an American military colonial government in Iraq.

To meet these challenges and best serve American national interests, as well as the best interests of the citizens of Iraq, I suggest eight steps:

First, the State Department, not the Defense Department, must be in charge of American policy after the military victory.

Second, whenever and wherever possible, we must internationalize the stabilization and reconstruction operations and not try to do it all ourselves.

Third, American troops in the field will be needed to keep the peace, but we should move quickly to spread the burden of peacekeeping by giving NATO the task. NATO is a robust military alliance that defeated one tyrant in Kosovo and surely could keep order in a post-Saddam Iraq.

Fourth, emergency relief authority must begin with the State Department and USAID, but there is no better chief administrator for the humanitarian challenges than the United Nations. Its vast resources, experience and expertise are unparalleled.

Fifth, we must engage expert multilateral organizations like the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank in the reconstruction of Iraq's infrastructure. A debt restructuring is needed to deal with Iraq's financial burden of $383 billion including foreign debt, compensation claims, and pending contracts.

Sixth, we should convene a donor's conference soon after the military victory. Funds will be needed right away for quick start reconstruction projects. This could provide a funding opportunity for the Arab League.

Seven, Iraqis must establish corruption-free control over their own oil. We should advocate for a transparent and reformed industry that accounts for oil revenues and devotes profits to rebuilding the country.

Eight, we should urge the United Nations to sponsor a conference on the formation and direction of a transitional Iraqi-based government. Iraqi provisional leaders, internal Saddam opponents, exiles and the international community should be brought together to establish a stable representative government of Iraqis.

We must seize this opportunity to stabilize and unify Iraq and demonstrate to the entire world our commitment to democratic values, personal liberties, and social justice. That is how we win the peace in Iraq.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment today, and I will not ask for a vote, that will increase the amount of money that we are providing to peacekeeping in this supplemental bill to an additional $68 million, and we would take that money from the Colombia military funds.

Mr. Chairman, I think it is critical for this House to understand the importance of internationalizing our peacekeeping. The peacekeeping funds as distributed by this bill by the State Department are used to assist coalition partners and other cooperative front-line states to promote stabilization activities in postconflict Iraq. Frankly, we do not want all of the peacekeeping to be done by American military forces, or even the coalition forces currently fighting with us in Iraq.

It is necessary, certainly, for us to have some initial burden; but we want

to quickly move in terms of long-term security presence to peacekeepers from our allies in Europe, from other partners, from organizations of international stature, such as the United Nations, or more likely perhaps NATO; and we need to understand the need to move toward that. We need to establish the rule of law in Iraq as part of peacekeeping, and we will need an international team of legal experts and judges and prosecutors to form a transitional justice team and a civilian police team. Years of neglect at the United Nations have made that organization probably incapable of the kind of robust peacekeeping that we are going to need.

I would suggest to the House that we look at NATO. That is the kind of organization that can lift a great part of the burden from American taxpayers and yet deliver robust and effective peacekeeping in Iraq after our victory. It is time now to understand the need to internationalize our burdens, not to try to do this all ourselves, to plan ahead and to make sure we call upon international agencies like NATO to help us in the tasks to come after our military victory.

For a variety of reasons, Mr. Chairman, I am going to withdraw this amendment. I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) and the ranking member (Mr. Obey) of the Committee on Appropriations for their cooperation.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the Jenkintown Library on its 200th anniversary.

Established in 1803, the Jenkintown Library is now the third oldest library in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. For two centuries it has been a center for community learning and is still satisfying the changing needs of the area. The library's vast collection contains books, periodicals, DVD's, and other forms of multimedia. The library also offers programs that reflect the diverse interests of the community it serves.

It is fitting that the Jenkintown Library is celebrating its bicentennial next week, as it corresponds with National Library week. National Library week is a time to recognize and highlight the contributions of both libraries and librarians for connecting people with the resources that they need to live and to learn. It also recognizes libraries as a place for education, self-help, and opportunity, something that the Jenkintown Library exemplifies.

Two hundred years after its founding, the Jenkintown Library still retains its architectural beauty and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. Throughout its long history, the library has been able to keep up with the needs of the community, and I am confident that the library will continue to contribute for many years to come. I am grateful for the service that the library has provided to not only the citizens of Jenkintown but to all Montgomery Countians.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the Rockledge Volunteer Fire Company on its one hundred years of service to that community.

Many things have changed for the company since its founding in 1903. It has grown from a single wagon pulled by the firefighters themselves to a small fleet of trucks capable of meeting all fire fighting needs. While it was once reliant on others to help put out its fires, the Rockledge Volunteer Fire Company is now large enough to lend its services beyond the town borders of Rockledge.

The fire company has become a staple in Rockledge, and its members have always been active in the community that they served. The late Jules Ceigelkowski served in the company for seventy years, and Robert Snyder, a former police and fire chief in Rockledge just celebrated sixty years of service in 2002. In addition, the fire company offers junior memberships to those under the age of 18.

Since its beginning, the Rockledge Fire company has been based on volunteerism, community, and caring for others. I firmly believe that it is those three principles that will continue to carry the company and its members for many years to come, and I am grateful for the service the company continues to provide to the citizens of Rockledge. Again, I congratulate the Rockledge Volunteer Fire Company on its 100th anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, I have the sad task of informing my colleagues that my predecessor, Gus Yatron, passed away unexpectedly early this morning.

Gus Yatron dedicated his entire life to public service, first serving as a school director for the Reading School District, and then serving in the Pennsylvania State House and in the Pennsylvania State Senate. He served with distinction in the halls of Congress for 24 years.

During Gus Yatron's years of public service, he helped thousands of people and was respected by all the colleagues that he served with. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Millie; his daughter, Theana; his son, George; and to his grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the time.

I agree with her concern because Pennsylvania doctors have a tremendous problem with medical malpractice premiums doubling and tripling, but they have been sold a bill of goods. This bill will not bring down their premiums. We should try to help those doctors, but not by punishing the most severely injured victims of medical malpractice.

We need insurance reform. The law in California did not work to bring down premiums. When they put a $250,000 cap on damages, the premiums continued to rise until they passed insurance reform in 1988 and mandated a reduction in premiums. That is what we need to be doing here.

At a minimum, we have got to put flexibility into these hard and inflexible caps. We ought to allow the trial judge at a minimum to allow something above the caps if circumstances on a case-by-case basis require that, but this House will not allow that to happen.

Let us look at the sad case of Linda McDougal, who was diagnosed with breast cancer and had both breasts removed because of the lab report. It turned out the lab was wrong. The good news for Linda McDougal is that she does not have breast cancer. The bad news is she does not have breasts anymore.

What is that worth? The proponents of this legislation would say that a woman's breasts are worth no more than $250,000. I do not want my colleagues to make that decision. I want a jury to make that decision. I want to defeat this bill.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, I was absent for votes on Wednesday, March 12, 2003, as a result of my participation in the memorial service honoring Robert H. Haakenson. Had I been present, I would have cast my votes as follows: Rollcall vote No. 53, ``aye'', Rollcall vote No. 54, ``aye'', Rollcall vote No. 55, ``aye'', Rollcall vote No. 56, ``aye'', Rollcall vote No. 57, ``aye''.

Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to state that unilateral military action by the United States against Iraq at this time is not in our best national interest.

Certainly Saddam Hussein must be disarmed and Iraq must be rid of weapons of mass destruction. Equally clear is our power to act unilaterally and successfully against Iraq, or any other country for that matter. I am proud we have that power, and we must sustain it. But the question is not whether we will prevail against Iraq. We will, with or without help. The real question is whether it is in our best national interest to unilaterally use our awesome power against Iraq. I believe it is not.

We may not need help to win a war, but we will need help the day after the war is won, and that help must come from a multinational or a United Nations effort. We need our friends to help with peacekeeping, with rebuilding and with international credibility, and that support will be absent if we take unilateral action.

This is not about winning United Nations permission to protect ourselves. We do not need that permission. This is about winning United Nations support to protect all civilized countries from the Iraqi threat. President Bush must forge a strong coalition through continued diplomacy before using American military power. If he does not, we will be isolated and less secure, and that is not in our national interest.

President Bush very skillfully won unanimous Security Council support last fall to restart the arms inspections, and he deserves great credit for that. After the initial success, however, the administration has not been able to maintain that unity and cannot even muster unity today among the five permanent nations of the Security Council.

What is the problem here? We are talking about an isolated country with a fourth-rate military and a leader who is a murderous tyrant that has no support and no friends in the United Nations. Yet the Security Council is split. Why is that? I believe it is because of the inept, bungled, cowboy diplomacy of the President of the United States and his senior advisers.

Six months ago, after a great deal of soul searching, I voted to give the President military authority to use force to rid Iraq of the weapons of mass destruction. The President asked for that authority and said he would exhaust all diplomatic options before using it. And his strategy worked. The inspections were restarted.

I am convinced that while those inspections have not been met with enough cooperation, the inspectors' presence in Iraq has made Saddam Hussein less dangerous for the time being.

The administration has had much less success since then, and the root cause is simple: cowboy diplomacy from this administration. Every diplomatic thrust has been met with rhetoric that belies and often contradicts the diplomatic efforts. Administration spokesmen speak nearly every day with rhetoric that implies we are bent on war, with or without U.N. support, with or without our traditional and closest allies. The implication is that diplomacy is just something to take up time and distract attention until all of our troops are in place.

The Bush administration spent much of its pre-9-11 days acting unilaterally on a variety of fronts, the environment, the ABM Treaty and many other ways, even though promising a new foreign policy run with humility during the 2002 election campaign.

In that broader sense, it comes as no surprise that so many of our allies are not joining us now.

Then last week, in the middle of this diplomatic standoff, the administration released its plans for a post-Saddam Iraq, which included the possibility of a civilian American government. I think that is a great mistake. It will certainly be necessary, if we invade Iraq, for there to be military occupation to keep people from murdering each other for a time. That occupation will be essential; but we should not impose an American civil government.

We should be looking for a multinational or a United Nations program to provide an interim civil government, and certainly our goal has to be to establish a representative and stable Iraqi government itself. The Bush plan smacks of colonialism, and could give ammunition to those who question our motives in seeking to disarm Hussein in the first place.

It is dangerous to conduct a unilateral invasion of Iraq. It will undermine our credibility and legitimacy that this country has built up over decades of global leadership. We must realize that when we question the motives of countries like Germany and France, they question ours. We must work with them.

I call on the Bush administration to renew its efforts to secure a broad multinational coalition or U.N. mandate to disarm Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, I was absent for votes on Tuesday, February 25 and Wednesday, February 26, 2003, as a result of the passing of my mother, Mrs. Eleanore Hoeffel. Had I been present, I would have cast my votes as follows: Rollcall vote No. 33, ``aye''; Rollcall vote No. 34, ``aye''; Rollcall vote No. 35, ``aye''; and Rollcall vote No. 36, ``aye''.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, I was absent for votes on Thursday, February 27, 2003 as a result of the passing of my mother, Mrs. Eleanore Hoeffel. Had I been present, I would have cast my votes as follows: rollcall vote No. 37 ``nay,'' rollcall vote No. 38 ``aye,'' rollcall vote No. 39 ``nay.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Michael DiNunzio, the Mayor of Lansdale in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, on being the recipient of the North Penn B'nai Brith Humanitarian Award. I am pleased to recognize Mike for his dedicated career in service to his community and country.

Mayor DiNunzio has been the Mayor of Lansdale for over twenty years. He has a record of distinction in the community. In working to improve the lives of Lansdale residents, he served his community in many different capacities. Many organizations and programs have benefited from Mike's leadership.

Mayor DiNunzio is committed to public service. He was a member of the Lansdale Development Foundation for the revitalization of the Borough of Lansdale. He served as president of the Association of Mayors of the Boroughs of Pennsylvania where he was awarded their highest honor, the ``Outstanding Mayor for 2000'' award. Mike served as a member of the North Penn Visiting Nurses Association for 56 years and was president of that group for 25 years. He also served as the vice-president of the Lansdale Public Library for 15 years. For five years, Mike served on the executive committee of the Montgomery County Boy Scouts. He is an active member of the Lansdale Rotary Club. Mike is the past president and board member of the United Way and the North Penn Chamber of Commerce, which he worked with for 15 years.

Mike DiNunzio served in the Military with distinction. He was in the U.S. Air Force during World War II and remains a member of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

I have worked closely with Mayor DiNunzio over the years on behalf of Lansdale residents. He is an honorable and committed public servant. In congratulate him on receiving this award and wish him continued success.