[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 120 (Friday, September 14, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H5693-H5698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 0050
In my community, there is a situation going on that preceded this
tragedy. A Pakistani woman lost her life through some unfortunate
incident in a store. We came together with that community because we
want justice. We respect civil rights, but we want to find out what
happened to that woman. We are going to continue that fight and that
unity.
In Houston, Texas, I believe we are going to share on Sunday
afternoon as well with a community forum to have people come together
and talk about how we are united and not how we are divided. So I again
want to thank the distinguished gentleman from Michigan, and I also
want to acknowledge the ranking member of the Committee on the
Judiciary, one of the original cosponsors, the gentleman from Michigan
(Mr. Conyers), who likewise offers very strong support for this
resolution.
It is important that we pass this tonight. I am sorry that it is at 5
or 10 minutes to 1 a.m., but what this resolution will allow us to do
is to go back and encourage and push our local fathers and mothers to
ensure that the governments of our communities, the people of our
community understand what being American is all about. I thank the
gentleman again for his leadership on this. Each of us must be soldiers
and, with this message, go back to convey to our communities that we
will not accept this kind of intolerance.
Mr. BONIOR. I thank my colleague for her eloquent statement.
Mr. Speaker, under my reservation of objection, I yield to the
gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher), who I have worked with on
a number of these issues over the years.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I think it speaks well of all of us in
this body and of our country that today, as we get to the business of
designing our counterattack against savagery that has been unleashed
against our countrymen, that we take this time to ensure that the rage
that is felt throughout our country does not take us in the same evil
direction that we plan to fight.
It is very easy to do. We understand that. Because as we are fighting
a group of fanatics overseas, it is very easy for Americans to lose
sight that people who perhaps are Muslim in their faith, and those
people who are responsible for the attack may well and probably were
Muslims, to generalize in that way. But that would be just a
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crime against our own citizens and against innocent people.
Our greatest strength as a Nation is that we are a people who
recognize that we are of all races and of all religions. I was very
proud today that at the National Cathedral we had all faiths
represented there, including Islam. And if we break that strength, we
are actually weakening ourselves. We as a people do not want to
compromise that policy and that strength of our country, which is that
we are of all races and all religions. We are bonded together by a love
of liberty and a commitment to each other. U.S., United States. That
means us, and us now includes many Muslim fellow citizens. And they are
heartbroken, as we are, at what has happened.
Just one thought. And I will be very quick because I know other
people want to express this. Bin Laden wants us to alienate all the
Muslims of the world, and especially to alienate our fellow Muslim
Americans. That is part of this terrorist plot. Their strategy is that
we, as Americans, will be so enraged, and we have a right to be enraged
and angry, that we will strike out blindly and, without thinking, will
alienate all of the Muslim world against us, including those Muslims
who live as Americans next door to us.
We cannot be stupid enough to fall for his strategy. We must proceed
in seeking revenge for those people, our fellow citizens that have lost
their lives; and we must do it in a smart way and make sure that we do
not alienate those Muslims. Instead, we need to recruit and reach out
to Muslims throughout the world who are good and decent people, who are
freedom-loving people, who will join us in a crusade to see that a new
standard of morality is set for all of mankind. And that standard is
that no noncombatants will ever, no people will ever tolerate an attack
and murder of noncombatants in order to achieve their ends. In this
goal we can enlist the Muslim community and we should try to do so.
It would be a crime against our own goals if we in some way fell to
bin Laden's strategy and tried to strike out at all Muslim countries.
We need to recruit the good people of that community.
I appreciate the gentleman's leadership on this. It is really
important we do this tonight.
Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, before I yield to my two colleagues from
California, who have done very good work in this area, I want to yield,
under my reservation of objection, to one of the leaders of the
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, the gentleman from Oregon
(Mr. Wu).
Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for yielding
to me, and I thank him for his leadership in bringing this resolution
to the floor.
Mr. Speaker, as Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American
Caucus, I have received troubling reports of incidents involving south
Asians being accosted, accused. Now, grief and anger are very, very
understandable this week. We have been grievously attacked. Grief and
anger are understandable reactions; but we must stand together as one
people, as Americans, as unhyphenated Americans.
The goal of terrorism is to instill fear, to divide, to break down
that delicate fabric of civility that holds us together. Now, heinous
things happened this week, but I would like to point out what did not
happen. It is my belief that the terrorists struck us and then stood
back, and what they hoped would happen is that riots would break out in
New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, my home of Oregon; that
pandemonium would prevail; abandonment of duty. Instead, people rose to
the occasion as one society, as one people. People stood at their
posts, did their duty even unto death, even going into buildings that
were burning and collapsing. We stood together as one people this week,
and we will not be divided. Americans will not accuse fellow Americans
based on race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin.
Tonight, I was at a candlelight vigil at the memorial for the
internment of Japanese Americans which occurred during World War II.
There are many eloquent phrases carved into the stone at that memorial,
but I think the core concept which was carved into the stone there is
that we must remember the mistakes of the past so that we will not
repeat them. So let us, as we launch into this future, let us be at our
best. Let us remember and learn from past errors. Let us have the
courage to face the difficult days ahead and to seize this moment to
build a free and safe world for all people, regardless of background.
{time} 0100
Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, continuing my reservation of objection, I
yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa).
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, it is beyond my possible understanding how in
America, even the isolated incidents that have happened, could happen
if we really view what those same people would like to have us do. We
do not know who perpetrated this crime for sure. We think it may be
Osama bin Laden or his allies. We do not know if Osama bin Laden is
backed completely by Iraq or by other groups. We are not sure where the
money comes from.
It is my personal wish, and I believe this body's wish, to find out;
and once we find out, we eradicate the capability of those people who
struck us so viciously once and for all. That is a reasonable response,
and I believe America wants to make that response.
But we cannot make that response with clean hands if in fact we use
the opportunity of this disaster to seek revenge against others in our
society.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot explain hate, and I would not try. What I would
like to do for a moment is just share something from my own youth.
When I was in high school, I worked for Rabbi Kasen in Cleveland
Heights. I was in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood, which is not bad
for an Arab kid from Cleveland, and I got one of the best jobs a kid
could get, I was working for the rabbi delivering poultry. I did not
know much about the rabbi, but over the years as I would return the car
at the end of the evening back to his home rather than where I picked
up the poultry, I would learn a little more and a little more.
By the time I was done working for him, I had discovered that his
entire family had been wiped out in the Holocaust. He bore a tattoo on
his arm, and he was a Holocaust survivor. But I discovered something
else, something more important that I think everyone in America has to
understand when we look at these acts of violence.
He was a man of God because he bore hatred towards no one, including
those who had so terribly disrupted his and his family's life. Instead,
he felt pity for them because they would know no salvation, they would
know no rest. They would be the recipients of only evil forever after,
while he would go on doing his little duty of running a small shop in
Cleveland Heights. He would run a little shop and he would raise his
children.
That lesson is a lesson America has to understand. We cannot let our
grievances, no matter how great, turn into acts of violence. America
has a right to respond to those who would hurt us and prevent them from
doing it in the future, but we can only do that with our heads held
high if we in America take the lead that Rabbi Kasen taught me as a
boy, and do not seek to strike out against those who have done wrong;
but rather, in fact, do not do what they did because only by, as
Christians say, by turning the other cheek, will we have clean hands to
seek the proper outcome, and that is justice for the acts done against
us.
Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, continuing my reservation of objection, I
yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra).
Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. And
this is a fitting time to say it. In the 9 years I have been in this
Chamber, I have never seen the gentleman from Michigan take on a task,
an assignment, without giving it his all, his commitment and his
conviction. And I think all of us stand very proudly with the gentleman
from Michigan in this case because oftentimes there are populations in
this country that do not have people standing for them.
Mr. Speaker, it is fitting in this House at 1 in the morning that as
we send out some powerful messages what has happened over the last few
days, that we do not forget to send this message as well.
This resolution is important, and I thank the gentleman from Michigan
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and all those who drafted this resolution. It is important because, as
we know, a house divided cannot stand. We have demonstrated tremendous
resolve in this Congress in the last few days, issuing resolutions
which have committed this country and our young men and women to things
that perhaps we will not want to think about as days pass, but we have
done it in unanimous votes or near-unanimous votes.
As we send those messages, I think it is appropriate that one of the
messages that is sent will be a message to all Americans that we will
stand united, that we are not a house divided, and we want everyone to
know that within our house that we call America, our neighbors deserve
to be treated equally, whether the individual is of Arab-American
descent, whether South Asian American, whether American Muslim, we are
all Americans and everyone deserves to be part of that house united.
I believe it is so important that we conclude this day's session by
giving not just this message that we are prepared to take on with
resolve those who chose to try to plunder this country, but also send
the message that all of us recognize that this will be done as a team;
that when we take on this task that Congress has set forth with the
President, that it is recognizing that we are a fabric made up of so
many different people.
This Sunday we will be holding memorial services for one of our
Americans who perished on one of those flights that was destined to a
life of infamy. We will be honoring Mrs. Tooran Boloorehi, who happens
also to be Arab American.
I hope that when we have these services for all of the Americans who
perished, we will remember that we are honoring them for their service,
for their life, and more importantly, for the dignity that they showed
in this country. It is time for us to recognize that the more we come
together, the more we will be that house that not only is not divided,
but is a house that will portray to the rest of the world what we can
do when we bring the diversity of the world together.
Mr. Speaker, that is why at the end of the day, our resolve through
these resolutions that we pass will demonstrate not only that we will
defeat terrorism, but that we will bring the world together, because in
America we have proven it makes no difference being hyphenated as an
American or not, we will come together.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand with the gentleman from Michigan
(Mr. Bonior) and all of my colleagues who have taken the time after a
very long week to say to all of our American brothers and sisters, we
stand together with them because they deserve it, and we will prove to
them when they decided to come to America, they were right.
Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, continuing my reservation of objection, I
yield to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Inslee).
Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, I have a special responsibility to speak
tonight. I represent Bainbridge Island just west of Seattle. It is full
of great people, and it is a great place to live. In early 1942, the
United States Government herded up some American citizens of Bainbridge
Island and marched them down to a dock and put them on a ferry boat and
put them in camps.
I think the Congressman from that district owes it to the people now
who are feeling the human passion and anger that is very
understandable, to urge this country not to repeat, or even its private
citizens, to repeat those kinds of mistakes.
I also have a responsibility tonight to speak in favor of this,
because in my district some knuckle-head defaced a mosque in Lynnwood,
Washington. Near my district, an armed man was arrested yesterday
threatening to burn down a mosque. The child of my staffer's sister had
to be taken out of day-care because somebody phoned in a bomb threat
due to the heritage of the folks at the day-care center. I do not think
those acts are American.
Mr. Speaker, let me tell the American act. Today I asked one of my
staff to go to that mosque in Lynnwood, Washington and talk to the
people. By happenstance, when he drove up to the mosque, there were
about 50 cars that drove up loaded with foodstuffs and flowers and
Christians who had come from their churches to tell that mosque that
that was not an American way and not consistent with religious liberty
and our brotherhood in this country. That was an American thing to do.
Mr. Speaker, I want to say I am proud of some things that are going
on in my district, too. Let us tell the people who are angry about
this, and I understand anger. Tomorrow morning I am going to call two
of my constituents whose son was lost in the Pentagon. I understand
passion and sorrow and anger.
{time} 0110
But those who have it, let us tell them that if you want to have an
effective strategy to win this war against terrorism, let us let the
Muslim people of the world know that we stand against terrorism and for
brotherhood and respect for all religious faiths.
Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts
(Mr. Delahunt).
Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. The
hour is late. There probably are very few folks here in this Nation
that are watching us tonight. But I think this is one of those truly
great moments in the history of this institution, tonight.
Let me echo the sentiments expressed earlier by the gentleman from
California about the sponsor of this legislation, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Bonior). Since I have been here for some 5 years, there
is no one that has advocated for justice, for human rights as the
gentleman who will be sorely missed in this institution.
It is clear that across the Nation, the anguish and the grief runs so
deep. And the events of this week have saddened us all, all Americans.
It has really seared the hearts of the Members in this institution and
Americans everywhere. Our pain has given rise to a profound anger. And
as the gentleman from Washington indicated, it is a righteous anger. It
is a righteous anger, almost in the Biblical sense of that term. Our
challenge now, and truly I suggest the test of our democracy, is to
harness that anger and to respond in a manner that is firm, that is
clear, that is resolute and is just, and that befits a great Nation.
And that not just merely respects our ideals but honors our ideals. I
believe that we are doing that right now.
I have never been as proud of serving in this Chamber as I am at this
very moment. So many Members have stayed, and we are all tired. We are
all weary. It has been an extraordinarily emotional week for all of us.
But this is truly a proud moment. Now I think it is critical that we
remind ourselves and our fellow citizens that we must never confuse
that righteous anger with hate. They are different.
Earlier tonight, both the majority leader, the gentleman from Texas,
and the Democratic leader, the gentleman from Missouri, observed with
great eloquence that America is great because America is good. That is
true. We rightfully claim a unique moral voice among the family of
nations. That is why, despite the imperfections that were alluded to by
the gentleman from Texas in his remarks earlier, America represents the
hopes and dreams of a world that truly yearns for peace, for freedom
and for justice. Hatred has no place in America. Hatred had no place in
America in the aftermath of the outbreak of World War II. And it has no
place in America tonight. Hatred is an attack on and an insult to our
values and our moral authority. Those who committed the atrocities that
stunned the Nation represent the face of hatred. We can never yield to
hate. For if we do, they will have robbed us, not just of our innocence
but our values and our ideals and everything that this country is
about.
Mr. BONIOR. I thank my colleague for a beautiful statement.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte).
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for
yielding and for his leadership in bringing forth this resolution which
I strongly support, and I do so for several reasons. First, I represent
a district from rural areas and smaller cities. We do not have a large
number of Arab Americans in my district. But perhaps that is all the
more reason to support it. Imagine living in an area
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where you have come to experience the freedom and democracy and
economic opportunity and live in an area where there are few other
people with whom you might identify based upon your religion or your
ethnic heritage. It is all the more important that we strike a blow for
that very freedom, that very principle in all parts of our country.
Second, this is the founding principle upon which our country was
founded. People fled all parts of the world to come here to experience
religious freedom and freedom from tyranny. And so many of the people
who have come here from Middle Eastern lands and other lands with a
Muslim heritage have done so because others in those lands have
mistreated them and have not lived by the principles that we espouse in
this country.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I believe that the very
success of the endeavor that we are now undertaking, which I think will
be a long-term endeavor, to root out terrorism and to respond to those
who have caused this hateful, devastating, despicable disaster that has
taken place in this country. If we are truly going to be successful, we
have to send the message that we are not directing this at anybody
because of their religious beliefs or because of their ethnic heritage,
we are directing this against terrorists. If we do not have that
message, not only with Arab Americans in this country but with those of
that background across the entire world, we will face a far greater
maelstrom as we go along.
We must convince the people of the world that we are directing this
as peace-loving people against those who would take away that peace and
that freedom from us. If we do not convey that message, then we will be
all the longer in struggling with the crisis that we face today. So I
am very, very strongly resolved with the President and with every
Member of this body that we are going to very forcefully respond to the
terrorists who caused this despicable act. I also think we have to at
the same time send forth a message that we are doing this as freedom-
loving Americans who respect all other Americans and are not doing this
directed at anybody from anywhere in the world simply because of their
heritage or religious beliefs.
{time} 0120
Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, continuing my reservation, I yield to my
friend, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).
Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan, and I
want to say what an honor it has been to work with the gentleman
through my time in Congress on so many concerns relating to this issue
which is before us. The gentleman and I share many common beliefs,
values, and constituencies.
I am privileged to have one of the largest constituencies of Arab-
Americans and Muslims and Arab-Christians and Asian-Indian
constituencies in the United States; and I know, as has been recited
tonight, that we are talking about Americans, our brothers and sisters,
individuals whose sons and daughters serve this country; individuals
who have built many of our communities; individuals who provide jobs
for many of our families; individuals who own and operate many of our
small businesses; individuals who are stalwart citizens in the
community; individuals who believe in our Constitution; individuals who
believe in our way of life; individuals who help describe what is good
about America.
So it is appropriate that we are here past 1 o'clock in the morning
to make a statement about what America represents, about what America
stands for, about the principles which bring us to this House.
Now, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bonior) has been in this House
much longer than I have, but I will say, as someone who has had the
privilege of serving in this House for almost 5 years now, every day
that I come into this Chamber and I walk along this counter, I see
carved in the counter certain principles expressed in single words.
Starting from my left, you see the word ``peace,'' and then next to it
carved in the wood is the word ``liberty,'' and right here in the
center is the word ``tolerance.'' Behind me carved in wood, the word
``justice,'' and right around the corner, the word ``union.''
These principles literally physically frame our debate every minute
that we are here on the floor of the House of Representatives. You
cannot miss them. They look out at us every moment; and by reference,
they look out at America.
Arab-Americans are our brothers and our sisters, and we have the
responsibility to stand up for them, just as in the last few hours we
took a stand on behalf of those poor souls who perished by claiming the
right to pursue justice on their behalf, because we do not need any
more victims in this country. America does not need to incur any more
losses on our soil, and we do not need to incur it at the hands of
American citizens turning against U.S. citizens, turning against our
own people. So tonight we plead for tolerance.
Now, tonight all across America people stood outside their homes and
held candles in the darkness. Those candles were held to send out the
light of hope in the darkness of despair.
The previous night thousands of people surrounded the Reflecting Pool
between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, and a ring of
light framed the water, reflecting the stars above.
We know that light always shines in the darkness. That is the promise
of so many of our holy scriptures. We know the light of tolerance
shines in the darkness of hate. We know the light of justice shines
through the darkness of prejudice. We know the light of liberty shines
through the dark hold of emotional, spiritual, and physical chains. We
know the light of peace shines through the darkness of terrorism. We
know the light of union shines through the darkness of division.
My country tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing; long
may our land be bright, with freedom's holy light, protect us by thy
might, great God, our king.
Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I
yield to the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).
(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I certainly want to commend our
majority leader, and especially the gentleman from Michigan (Mr.
Bonior), our minority whip, for his sponsorship of this important
resolution, House Concurrent Resolution 227, now before this body for
consideration.
Mr. Speaker, I realize it is 1:30 in the morning, but this is
certainly a very important issue that must be addressed by this
institution. Certainly not taking anything away from the thrust of all
the energies and the efforts that are made, not only by our President
but by the Congress, concerning the tragedy that has just taken place
in the past couple of days, but I must say that the United States
Congress must express its firm opposition and strong condemnation of
those in our country who advocate hatred, bigotry and racism against
our fellow Americans whose cultural roots are from the Middle East,
from South Asia, and especially our fellow American citizens who are
members of the Muslim faith.
In my desire in echoing the sentiments of my friend from
Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt), I, too, would like to express my sincere
appreciation and commendation to you, our minority whip, for your
leadership and certainly the outstanding service that you have rendered
to our Nation. I, too, will sorely miss not only your handsome face,
but just being here as a fellow colleague and a Member of this
institution.
I will always remember the gentleman as a true warrior, who has
always advocated truly what freedom really means, the principles of
human rights, and certainly the rights of working men and women all
over America and their struggles and efforts in making ends meet and
providing for their children.
I thank the gentleman.
I, too, would like to associate myself with the gentleman from Oregon
(Mr. Wu), as chairman of our Asia-Pacific Congressional Caucus
expressing some concerns about the hate crimes that are now evident
throughout some of our communities in America simply because our fellow
Americans are Arab-Americans.
We have taken also an understanding of what happened after the
Oklahoma
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City bombing, and what was the first reaction by our local and Federal
officials? It seems to me that all Arab-Americans were profiled. This
is certainly not in good standing as far as I am concerned as far as
what America should really be about.
I thank my good friends, the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr.
Rahall), the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa), and the gentleman
from California (Mr. Becerra). I certainly appreciate the comments made
earlier about this very important issue.
In my youth, Mr. Speaker, I lived among people from various different
cultural backgrounds. This, of course, was in the State of Hawaii,
where you get to appreciate what it means to be going or living
alongside or being with a student who happens to be of Filipino
ancestry or Japanese or Chinese or Korean or Pacific Islander, or even
those who are African-Americans.
But I am always reminded, and seemingly also, Mr. Speaker, in the
past couple of days, that a great many of number of our colleagues of
the House have always used the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7,
1941, as a reminder, and in a very similar fashion, of what happened in
the past couple of days.
{time} 0130
Mr. Speaker, there is a very strong distinction that I want to share
with my colleagues about what happened to Americans who happened to be
of Japanese ancestry. The fact that it was our government that took
some 100,000 Japanese Americans, born and raised here in this Nation,
confiscated their properties, took everything that belonged to them,
took them to what was known as ``relocation'' camps, I call them
concentration camps, and, yet, despite all the bigotry that was heaped
upon the Japanese in World War II, there were some 6,700 Nisei soldiers
who volunteered from California, from all over the country, and
especially from the territory of Hawaii, that organized two combat
units known as the 100th Battalion of the 442nd infantry combat groups,
and because of the racism President Roosevelt felt, as it was also with
General Marshall, that maybe in their spirit of really wanting to
defend the enemies of our Nation, sent them to Europe, which they did,
they went to Europe.
I want to share with my colleagues the results of their value and the
courage that they displayed in defending this flag, despite the fact
that their parents and their brothers and sisters were being placed in
concentration camps throughout America. Mr. Speaker, 18,000 individual
declarations were given to these men who died and fought for America,
the Japanese Americans. Over 9,000 Purple Hearts were awarded. The
100th Battalion was sometimes known as the Purple Heart Battalion.
Mr. Speaker, 314 percent, the casualty percentage of those Japanese
Americans who fought so bravely on behalf of our Nation. Some 562
Silver Stars, medals, were honored. Ironically, only one Medal of Honor
was given to these Japanese Americans and, thank God, in 1996 when
Senator Cochran introduced a bill to review the whole efforts of why
only one Medal of Honor was given, despite the fact that some 52
Distinguished Service Crosses were given to these Japanese Americans.
But in view of the recent review that was made, and for which I am
very grateful, the record has now been changed to 21 Medals of Honor
were given to these Japanese Americans, including the distinguished
Senator from Hawaii, Senator Inouye.
I wanted to share this with my colleagues because I do not know if I
would have been able to do what they did in World War II. Put yourself
in their shoes. After spilling your guts out and being wounded and all
that you have done for your country and you had to come back from
Europe looking for your parents and brothers and sisters in a
concentration camp. I do not know if I could do that, Mr. Speaker. But
this is what these men did to defend the honor of our Nation.
I say this with sincerity, because I want my colleagues to know that
we are now at the shadow of getting the same type of attitude, the same
type of concern of hatred and bigotry towards people who are totally
innocent from what has happened. So just because it was the Japanese
military that bombed Pearl Harbor, I sincerely hope, and I am sure that
my colleagues will agree with me, that this should not be the case
given to our fellow Arab Americans throughout this country.
Yes, we should say never again that this should ever happen to our
country, but always it seems that this happens all the time. I wish I
did not have to be known as a Pacific American or a Chinese American or
an African American. I never hear anybody saying I am a French American
or British American or German American. Why is it that we have to do
these labels? Is it not ironic that this is not French America, this is
not British America, this is not Russian America, this is the United
States of America. We are a united America. The strength of our Nation,
Mr. Speaker, lies in its diversity, and I think this is what makes us
so unique. This is what makes this country so powerful and so much a
great example before all of the nations of the world, what truly
freedom means and what democracy is all about.
Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his very eloquent
and passionate statement. I appreciate it.
Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I yield to the
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird).
Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for
yielding me this time. I thank those who have spoken so eloquently
tonight on this matter.
Mr. Speaker, in the immediate aftermath of the collision of those
jets with the World Trade Center, the President of the United States
addressed the people of this great country and he said, America is
being tested, and he assured us that we would pass the test. We will
pass that test. But we will pass it only if we pass it with compassion
and unity and strength of all our diverse peoples, from all faiths, all
national origins, all ethnicities, all united as one united people in
this great United States of America.
These agents of aggression, of hatred against Arab Americans, are
precisely the opposite of what makes this country great and what makes
this country worth defending. We must stand united. We must unite to
reject these acts of hatred, because we can only conquer terrorism with
unity, and ultimately with love for our fellow human beings.
I rise in profound support, and I thank the gentleman from Michigan
for his initiative and for all of those who have spoken on this
resolution.
Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, under my reservation of objection, I yield
to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney).
Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I too want to stand to thank the gentleman for
introducing what I think is a very important and critical resolution. I
just wanted to reflect for a second. I know the hour is late, but I
will be brief.
When the hostages were taken in Iran, I can remember clearly, there
were elected officials that began to want to introduce resolutions to
ask students because they were from Iran, Iranian Americans, to
actually not be able to be teaching assistants or to leave, and that
whole fever erupted across the country. I can remember a scene in a
restaurant where there were Iranian Americans, and in fact, it was in
Ohio at the time, that people were saying, why do you not go home?
These people were home. That type of fever prevailed.
Now we have amongst us over 1 million Iranian Americans that live in
the United States and live in neighborhoods, and people who know them,
and people look back with embarrassment and shame about what happened.
We do not want to see that happen again. So the feelings and thoughts
have to be I think for us to realize that we need to learn our lesson
and look back from what happened at that time.
Also, I just wanted to reflect on the children of people of Arab
American descent and some of the comments that are made to them. It is
incumbent upon us, and that is what we are doing tonight to spread this
word, and to ask Americans that feel this passion for fairness to talk
to other Americans when they make a comment that is a broad brush.
I want to close by saying that I lived in Iran in 1978. I have been
on the other side of this type of situation, and I was there during the
turbulence during the
[[Page H5698]]
fall of the Shah. At that time I can remember Iranians who told other
Iranians to not make the comments because we were obviously American in
our look. I want to thank those people that helped thousands of us to
not have the harassment. I have been in those shoes, in a sense, and we
have to just I think as Americans, Mr. Speaker, put ourselves in the
shoes of these Americans of Arab descent, and I think this message will
go out. I hope the media also, I say to the gentleman, keep hammering
this in, that our country was founded on fairness and freedom that has
been so eloquently expressed here tonight.
I thank the gentleman for doing something good and right for the
people of this country.
{time} 0140
Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for adding to what I
think has been a very extraordinary dialogue here this evening on
something that is very fundamental to what we are about as a country,
and that is the words that not only the gentleman shared with us here
this evening, but the words of the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich)
and others who referred to the notion of tolerance, justice, liberty,
union, and peace. These are all ideals that we cherish deeply in our
Nation.
I am so proud of the folks who came here this evening to speak and to
make that differentiation that is so important to so many millions of
Americans today who have lived in fear as a result of the actions that
have been taken against their brothers and sisters.
Mr. Speaker, let me just end with this. The Prophet Mohammed has
taught that God does not judge according to our bodies or appearances,
but he looks into our hearts, he scans our hearts, and looks into our
deeds.
The holy Qu'ran teaches ``Oh, Mankind, we created you from a single
soul, male and female, and made you peoples and tribes so that you may
come to know one another,'' so that we may come to know one another.
As leaders and as Members of Congress, if we could take the message
that we articulated so well this evening and spread that throughout our
country over these next days and weeks and months, I think we will have
done a good service. When the world watched our national prayer service
earlier today, as many alluded to in their speeches on the floor today,
they heard the healing words of many faiths: a Muslim Iman, a Jewish
rabbi, and Christian clergy, Mr. Speaker.
These Americans, like the rest of the world, all worship God in their
own way, but the common faith they share, what we have witnessed in the
torrent of goodness this week, the neighbors helping neighbors,
strangers helping strangers, is that hate can never conquer our
Nation's spirit. That is the common faith that they share, that hate
can never conquer our Nation's spirit.
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, this week, thousands of people in New York
and Washington lost their lives in a brutal assault on our Nation that
was a calculated strike at the heart of our freedom and national unity.
Millions of Arab Americans, South Asian Americans and American Muslims
around the country have shared our sorrow and outrage at Tuesday's
terrorist attacks. They have donated their blood, their money, their
food and their time to the rescue and recovery efforts at the World
Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Now these same individuals who have mourned and prayed with us have
come under suspicion by their neighbors and the threat of additional
violence in the form of hate crimes at their homes, schools, community
centers and mosques. As a part of our effort to protect America from
violence, we must unequivocally condemn the attacks against these
groups and pledge to protect their civil rights and civil liberties.
My district is home to one of the largest Arab and Muslim communities
in the country. It is vital that we distinguish the beliefs of these
Americans from the perpetrators of Tuesday's violence, and recognize
that American Muslims share our values and contribute significantly to
our communities. If we fail to do so, then we will have seriously
undermined freedom--the same principle we find ourselves vigorously
defending in the wake of Tuesday's attacks.
All Members should stand to condemn any acts of bigotry, violence or
discrimination against Arab Americans, South Asians and American
Muslims and call upon Americans of every faith and heritage to stand
together in this time of national crisis. We must pledge that in our
pursuit of national security government agencies will work to avoid
activities that encroach upon the civil rights and civil liberties of
citizens or legal residents of the United States.
As we should have learned from the shameful history of internment of
Japanese-Americans during World War II, the civil rights and civil
liberties of discrete groups of minorities should be specially
considered during times of domestic and international turmoil. Our
sense of community with fellow Americans of Arab and South Asian
descent and those of the Muslim faith should not be counted as another
casualty of Tuesday's senseless violence.
Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their time this
evening, and I withdraw my reservation of objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shimkus). Is there objection to the
request of the gentleman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
The Clerk read the concurrent resolution, as follows:
H. Con. Res. 227
Whereas all Americans are united in condemning, in the
strongest possible terms, the terrorists who planned and
carried out the attacks against the United States on
September 11, 2001, and in pursuing all those responsible for
these attacks and their sponsors until they are brought to
justice and punished;
Whereas the Arab-American, South Asian-American, and
American Muslim communities are a vital part of the Nation;
Whereas on September 12, 2001, in a mass for the Nation and
the victims of the terrorist hijackings and attacks, Cardinal
Theodore McCarrick, the Archbishop of Washington, D.C.,
reminded all Americans in prayer that ``we must seek the
guilty and not strike out against the innocent or we become
like them who are without moral guidance or direction'';
Whereas the heads of State of several Arab and
predominantly Muslim countries have condemned the terrorist
attacks on the United States and the senseless loss of
innocent lives; and
Whereas vengeful threats and incidents of violence directed
at law-abiding, patriotic Americans of Arab or South Asian
descent, particularly the Sikh community, and adherents of
the Islamic faith have already occurred: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress--
(1) declares that in the quest to identify, bring to
justice, and punish the perpetrators and sponsors of the
terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001,
that the civil rights and civil liberties of all Americans,
including Arab-Americans, American Muslims, and Americans
from South Asia, should be protected; and
(2) condemns any acts of violence or discrimination against
any Americans, including Arab-Americans, American Muslims,
and Americans from South Asia.
The concurrent resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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