[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 104 (Tuesday, August 2, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1040
 
            DIPLOMATIC AND PEACEFUL SOLUTION NEEDED IN HAITI

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Deutsch). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of February 11, 1994, and June 10, 1994, the gentleman from New 
York [Mr. Gilman] is recognized during morning business for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, the Clinton administration has succeeded in 
obtaining from the U.N. Security Council a resolution authorizing the 
use of all necessary means to oust the military rulers in Haiti.
  Administration representatives lobbied intensively with those of 
other nations at U.N. headquarters to gain this approval that could 
mean the commitment of American troops to military action.
  All the more regrettable that the President has yet to seek any 
authorization from the Congress, and the American people, before 
sending troops into an action that could cost the lives of their sons 
and daughters.
  Last month, along with 102 of my colleagues in the House, I wrote the 
President urging him to seek such approval.
  Last week, when Secretary of State Warren Christopher appeared before 
our Committee on Foreign Affairs, I asked him whether the President 
would seek approval from Congress before taking military action in 
Haiti.
  He replied that consultations on the matter would be, in his words, 
``as full as can be permitted by the circumstances in which we find 
ourselves.''
  Absent a genuine emergency that threatens the safety of American 
citizens, I believe that response falls far short of seeking the kind 
of approval the President should have in this situation.
  In coming to the Congress for this approval, the President needs to 
fully explain the following to the American people:
  First, what U.S. national security interests are at stake that compel 
an invasion; second, what the objectives are of such an invasion; 
third, what the costs will be; and fourth, when and under what 
circumstances will the United States withdraw its military forces.
  Mr. Speaker, the administration seems to be driving up a blind alley 
toward a military confrontation with Haiti that could leave a long and 
bitter legacy.
  Before deciding to play the military card, the President should 
exhaust every possible diplomatic option. One which deserves review is 
to send a bipartisan congressional group to Haiti to assess the 
humanitarian, political and diplomatic conditions there and to report 
back.
  Forty-eight of the eighty members of Haiti's Chamber of Deputies have 
written to Congress urging that a congressional delegation be appointed 
to meet with such a broad cross-section of Haitian society.
  Many of those Haitian parliamentarians who signed the letter opposed 
the coup against President Aristide. All were freely elected in the 
same election as President Aristide.
  It would be an affront to disregard a request from 60 percent of the 
duly elected members of Haiti's Chamber of Deputies.
  Before reaching a point of no return on military action, I recommend 
that the administration should take advantage of what could be a final 
opportunity to achieve a diplomatic and peaceful solution to this 
desperate tragedy.

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