[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 71 (Tuesday, May 13, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H3988-H3990]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT THE UNITED NATIONS SHOULD REMOVE 
  THE ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAQ COMPLETELY AND WITHOUT CONDITION

  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 160) expressing the 
sense of Congress that the United Nations should remove the economic 
sanctions against Iraq completely and without condition, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 160

       Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 661 
     established sanctions as a result of Saddam Hussein's 
     unprovoked, illegal aggression against the sovereign Arab 
     State of Kuwait;
       Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 
     continued the sanctions, which were intended to deprive the 
     government of Saddam Hussein of maintaining or acquiring the 
     means to threaten other states or peoples, or to continue to 
     oppress his own people;
       Whereas the United Nations Security Council, through the 
     Oil-for-Food program, allowed for humanitarian goods to flow 
     to Iraq while maintaining the sanctions regime and control 
     over Iraq's oil revenue;
       Whereas the Coalition that liberated Iraq poses no risk to 
     other states or peoples, and there is no reason to believe 
     that the people of Iraq, liberated from the tyrant Saddam 
     Hussein, pose such a risk;
       Whereas the Coalition is providing for the humanitarian 
     needs of the Iraqi people;
       Whereas the people of Iraq are now ready to rebuild their 
     nation after over 30 years of tyranny;
       Whereas the sanctions established by United Nations 
     Security Council Resolutions 661 and 687 prohibit the 
     importation of goods necessary for the Iraqi people to 
     rebuild their country;
       Whereas these sanctions restrict the trade of Iraqi goods, 
     by and on behalf of the Iraqi people, necessary to allow 
     expeditious rebuilding of Iraq and recovery from the tyranny 
     of Saddam Hussein; and
       Whereas continuing the sanctions imposed on the government 
     of Saddam Hussein punishes the people of Iraq for the actions 
     of a

[[Page H3989]]

     brutal tyrant who no longer rules them: Now, therefore, be 
     it:
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that--
       (1) the United Nations should immediately act to lift the 
     economic sanctions imposed by United Nations Security Council 
     Resolutions 661 and 687; and
       (2) member states of the United Nations should allow and 
     encourage their nationals to trade with Iraq.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. 
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith).


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and 
extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 
160, the legislation under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Madam Speaker, this resolution calls on the United Nations to 
immediately and unconditionally lift the economic sanctions on Iraq. 
The U.N. sanctions were passed after Saddam Hussein, a totalitarian 
dictator, invaded Kuwait in 1990. That resolution was the first of 17 
U.N. resolutions passed over the next 11 years trying to bring Saddam 
Hussein under control.
  At the time then-President Bush organized a coalition that sent in 
the military, forced Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait, and subsequently 
loosened the hold of this murderous tyrant over the Kurdish people in 
northern Iraq.
  Madam Speaker, in September of 1991, the United Nations modified the 
sanctions to contain Saddam Hussein and allowed him to trade Iraq's oil 
for only humanitarian supplies through the so-called Oil for Food 
Program. These sanctions were meant to keep Saddam Hussein's military 
from developing more weapons and becoming a greater threat.
  However, after an impressive military success, Iraq is now entering a 
new day and is no longer a threat. Coalition forces have freed the 
Iraqi people, and the U.N. sanctions which once strove to contain a 
murderous tyrant now contain the Iraqi people themselves. The Iraqi 
people have historically been one of the most highly educated, 
industrious, and entrepreneurial people in the Middle East. To rebuild 
their country, Iraq and the Iraqi people must be able to trade freely. 
Every additional day that these sanctions remain is an additional day 
that the people of Iraq are suffering from Saddam Hussein's tyranny.
  The President has called on the United Nations to end these 
sanctions. I have introduced this resolution, and the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the chairman, and the ranking member, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) have moved it through the 
Committee on International Relations so members of the Security Council 
would understand that the United States Government speaks with a single 
voice in Iraq.
  The coalition returned political freedom to the Iraqi people, but 
with these sanctions the U.N. is withholding the opportunity for 
economic freedom and recovery from Saddam Hussein's tyranny. I hope 
that Congress can send a strong message demanding that the United 
Nations immediately correct this mistake and lift the economic 
sanctions against Iraq.
  Madam Speaker, let me briefly describe the resolution before us. This 
resolution recognizes that the United Nations sanctions were imposed on 
the regime of Saddam Hussein, not on Iraq or its people. Iraq had 
become a murderous toy for a totalitarian dictator. The Iraqi people 
did not choose to invade Kuwait. Their Arab neighbors and Saddam 
Hussein actually went and did it. The Iraqi people did not choose to go 
to war with Iran in the 1980s. Saddam Hussein did. The Iraqi people 
certainly did not decide to use chemical weapons against either Iranian 
soldiers or on Iraqi Kurds. Saddam Hussein did.
  These sanctions were not imposed on the Iraqi people. They were 
imposed on the regime led by a crazy man who exploited the resources of 
Iraq for his own gains. And when this regime fell, so did the basis for 
his sanctions.
  The resolution recognizes that the coalition freed the Iraqi people 
for a better future. It recognizes that at this time the coalition is 
providing for the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people. The coalition 
is working as hard and as fast as it can to have Iraq standing on its 
own two feet, but restricting trade makes this very difficult.
  Newspaper reports have said that after the Iran/Iraq war, it took 3 
years for electric power to come back to some parts of Baghdad. The 
U.S. is pushing to get the people of Baghdad working and getting them 
electricity by this June.
  The coalition is working with the United Nations and other 
organizations to provide as much as possible for the Iraqi people after 
the more than two decades of neglect of Iraq's infrastructure.
  This resolution also recognizes that with the liberation of the Iraq, 
the effects of the sanctions have shifted. Sanctions were imposed, 
Madam Speaker, because the resources of Iraq were used to serve the 
dangerous interests of a single man. The sanctions help contain his 
ability to build an army and threaten Iraq's neighbors and the Iraqi 
people themselves.
  Now that Saddam Hussein's regime has ended, the resources of Iraq can 
now serve the people of Iraq. When they seek to trade their goods for 
goods of others, it is in their own interest, not in those of a tyrant. 
The Iraqi people want to trade to rebuild their country, devastated by 
30 years of misrule. Before Iraq was liberated, the sanctions contained 
Saddam Hussein. Now they contain the Iraqi people. The continuation of 
these sanctions has, in effect, equated the people of Iraq with their 
former dictator.
  A majority of Iraqis have lived most of their adult lives under 
Saddam Hussein. The transition to a free enterprise economy will be 
difficult, impossible while trade sanctions continue.
  Madam Speaker, I offer this resolution because some members of the 
Security Council have hesitated in ending these sanctions for what 
appear to be selfish reasons. In doing so they undermine the Iraqi 
people, and they continue to undermine their own credibility and that 
of the United Nations.
  I know my colleagues in Congress will join me in calling on the 
United Nations to end the economic sanctions on Iraq.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I want to thank and commend my good 
friend, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith), my colleague, for his 
authorship of this resolution. I certainly want to commend him for his 
leadership and his expertise not only as a member of the Subcommittee 
on the Middle East and Central Asia, but his firm understanding of the 
issues now at hand. I also want to commend the chairman of our 
Committee on International Relations, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Hyde), and our senior ranking member, the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Lantos) for their providing support of this legislation that is 
now before us.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution.
  First, I would like to express my condolences to the families of all 
those who died in yesterday's suicide bombing attack in Saudi Arabia. I 
hope for the speedy recovery of those who were injured. This attack 
demonstrated that in the midst of the very crisis facing these 
countries, we need to maintain our focus on the war on terrorism and 
remain focused on protecting our homeland.
  Madam Speaker, the resolution before us today calls for an end to 
sanctions against Iraq, an issue that holds the key to resolving 
virtually every major economic and social problem in newly liberated 
Iraq. Sanctions on Iraq, established by the United Nations Security 
Council Resolution 661 and reaffirmed in United Nations Security 
Council Resolution 687, have been in place for nearly 13 years since 
the August 1990 Iraq invasion of Kuwait.

[[Page H3990]]

These sanctions were intended to deprive Saddam Hussein insofar as it 
was possible of the means to carry out the most nefarious of his 
policies, threatening his neighbors and Iraq's own citizens, developing 
weapons of mass destruction and supporting terrorism.

                              {time}  1515

  Madam Speaker, clearly the need for United Nations sanctions on Iraq, 
indeed the very logic of sanctions, has now expired with the defeat and 
demise of Saddam Hussein's regime. Neither the coalition authorities 
nor the Iraqi people liberated from Saddam's tyranny pose any sort of 
threat to neighboring states. Nor, we can be certain, Madam Speaker, 
will the coalition authorities or a subsequent Iraqi regime support 
terrorism or develop weapons of mass destruction.
  It is, therefore, time for the international community to decisively 
lift the sanctions and to allow the Iraqi people to resume a normal 
economic life and proceed with the reconstruction of their country, a 
crucial first step towards developing the healthy political and social 
environment in which democracy and social harmony can flourish.
  Madam Speaker, I know that this matter is now being negotiated by our 
diplomats at the United Nations, and I have confidence that they will 
soon reach a satisfactory solution, I would certainly like to commend 
our Secretary of State, Colin Powell, for his outstanding leadership in 
this area.
  This resolution strengthens our diplomats' hands by reinforcing the 
message that the world should support, and certainly not impede, 
economic development in liberated Iraq.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H. Con. Res. 160 and 
urge an end to anachronistic sanctions on Iraq.
  Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Farr).
  Mr. FARR. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the 
time.
  I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 160, a bill to remove the 
economic sanctions against Iraq. For too long, the sanctions have 
drained the Iraqi society and its vital economic energy. In their wake, 
we find a country whose standard of living has declined significantly, 
its middle class has all but disappeared, and its infrastructure is in 
total disrepair.
  Now that dictator Saddam Hussein, the inspiration for the sanctions 
regime, has been defeated, there no longer remains any justification 
for its continuation. I hope that the lifting of the sanctions will 
lead to a prosperous Iraq economy which will benefit the people and 
bring them back into the world of free and open commerce.
  I think that this bill, which signals the commitment of the United 
States to reconstruction in Iraq, is a good step in the right 
direction. I trust that the United Nations will respond positively to 
this initiative.
  The removal of sanctions, however, will not alone bring prosperity to 
Iraq. Before there is prosperity, there must first be security. It is 
my firm belief that the United States, by intervening militarily in 
Iraq, has assumed the responsibility for the safety and the security of 
the Iraqi people.
  I applaud the gentleman from Michigan's initiative on the economic 
front. We must also pay attention to the security front.
  As we continue to assist Iraq in its reconstruction, I think we need 
to establish here in Congress an institutional framework for 
postconflict resolutions and for postconflict operations. Part of that 
institutional framework would be to strengthen the U.S. Government's 
ability to respond to authority gaps left by failed or otherwise 
collapsed states.
  I propose to draft legislation for the creation of an integrated 
security component in NATO, which would train and equip special units 
which would provide for the security of the civilian population serving 
as an interim police force.
  I urge my colleagues today to support H. Con. Res. 160, and I look 
forward to working with the sponsor and other interested Members of 
Congress to develop this postconflict legislation to close the security 
and justice gaps so that Iraq and countries emerging from conflict can 
achieve the economic prosperity to which they, and we, aspire.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  I would like to say in relation to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Farr) that our Committee on International Relations is looking 
carefully at these issues and looks forward to working with my 
colleague, and certainly in a bipartisan effort to deal with this 
possible legislation.
  I would like to say also, Madam Speaker, that the gentleman from 
American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) is one of the outstanding 
Representatives in Congress that is both exceptionally capable and also 
a good friend. Concluding my comments, I again urge the United Nations 
to act swiftly. In the language of the resolution the United Nations 
Security Council Resolution 661 established sanctions as a result of 
Saddam Hussein's unprovoked illegal aggression against the sovereign 
Arab State of Kuwait. This resolution is expressing the sense of 
Congress that now the United Nations should remove the economic 
sanctions against Iraq completely and without condition.
  It is the hope of the United States to have this resolution in the 
United Nations passed by June 3. It is my personal opinion that if the 
United Nations refuses to pass this resolution, the United States and 
the coalition should act aggressively to still allow oil and other 
products to be exported from Iraq to allow necessary supplies be 
purchased to go to Iraq for rebuilding.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Capito). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
160, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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