[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 19, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H2103-H2104]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 ALTERNATIVES TO WAR SHOULD BE DEBATED

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, many times, many of us are not 
aware of the very special talents and the very diverse backgrounds 
Members have in this House. I was moved to listen more than I ever have 
to the words of the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis). For those 
Members who need to be refreshed in their memories, of course, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) is one of the valiant soldiers of 
the civil rights movement, one of the leaders of the civil rights 
movement, and one of those very privileged persons who had the 
opportunity to work directly with Dr. Martin Luther King. His words 
were particularly potent this evening, because he has just led a 
pilgrimage to Selma, Alabama, to reacknowledge the Selma-to-Montgomery 
march. The march of March 7, 2003, was to acknowledge the march of 
March 7, 1965, when Congressman Lewis's attempt to walk across the 
bridge for civil rights and the right to vote was stopped by the bloody 
actions of those in Selma, Alabama. Today we are seeking healing, and 
he is proudly one that leads a

[[Page H2104]]

group of Members and others back every year.
  So when he speaks about peace, he knows from which he speaks. I 
believe it might be well for this Congress to pause and this Nation to 
pause for a moment just to think about the issues of nonviolence and 
whether or not it shames us or diminishes us to find another option to 
the option now posed of a war against Iraq.
  Mr. Speaker, I frankly believe that we have not consented to a war 
against Iraq; and I believe this Congress has yet to fully debate this 
question, a simple question of declaring war against Iraq under article 
I, section 8. I am asking the Speaker to bring this legislation up.
  I believe that we have another option, Mr. Speaker; and it does not 
again diminish our respect and admiration and acknowledgment of the 
hundreds of thousands of young men and women already deployed, willing 
to offer their lives so that we might live free. It respects their 
choices. It also acknowledges the different strains, stresses, and 
tribulations that these young people are under. The story of two 
Marines, male and female, parents of a 2-year-old son who have to leave 
now, one already gone, one about to leave and writing their will to 
determine where that child might go.
  I believe we have another option because we are united around the 
fact that Saddam Hussein is a bad actor, a bad leader, a horrific and a 
heinous actor upon people. So I believe we can find a way to win this 
effort against the acts that he has perpetrated by using international 
law. We can, through the United Nations Security Council, convene an 
international war crimes tribunal and indict him so that the 
credibility of his government and Mr. Saddam Hussein is diminished. We 
can leave a coalition of 50,000 troops on the border to ensure that the 
U.N. inspection process goes forward. We can begin humanitarian aid. We 
can as well regain or rebegin, regain the prominence of fighting the 
war against terrorism, and we can reignite the Mideast peace process.
  Mr. Speaker, there are options other than war. I would ask this 
Congress to do its job and not be silenced, debate this question; but I 
ask the President to review the options in light of the courage of our 
young men and women and the United States military. We salute them; we 
praise them. That is why we are owed the duty to render the right 
decision on their behalf and the people of the United States of 
America. There is another option. I argue for peace over war. Listen to 
the words of the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. John Lewis.) He knows from 
whence he speaks.

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