[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 37 (Tuesday, March 23, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H1347-H1348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TELLING THE TRUTH, FACING THE CONSEQUENCES IN THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida). Under a 
previous order of the House, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel) 
is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, Richard Clark is a career civil servant and 
registered Republican who served in four administrations: President 
Reagan, President Bush, President Clinton and now our present President 
Bush. Most recently, he served for this President as a counterterrorism 
czar for President George W. Bush.
  Apparently, he committed an unforgivable sin on ``60 Minutes'' Sunday 
night. In his new book, ``Against All Enemies,'' Mr. Clark lays out a 
detailed, factual, substantive critique of the President Bush's failure 
to adequately address the threat of terrorism and specifically al Qaeda 
before September 11.
  I worked in the Clinton White House. I worked with Dick Clark. We did 
not always agree on everything; but we never doubted his patriotism, 
and working for four Presidents, one Democrat and three Republicans, he 
was committed to this country and to his mission in serving it.
  Let me give my colleagues a quote from that show: ``I think the way 
he,'' that is, the President, ``responded to al Qaeda, both before 9/11 
by doing nothing, and by what he's done after 9/11 has made us less 
safe. Absolutely.''
  ``He [President Bush] ignored terrorism for months, when maybe we 
could have done something to stop 9/11. Maybe. We'll never know.''
  What has been the consequence? He has been castigated since the 
newscast aired Sunday night. The White House has attacked him 
professionally and personally, going to the point of questioning the 
loyalty and integrity of a man who clearly was not in the business for 
politics.
  But Dick Clark joins a long list of ex-administration officials who 
have one thing in common: they told the truth. They told the truth in 
the face of great political pressure and personal risk, knowing they 
would be attacked for what they said, and this is a long list of people 
that exited the administration.
  This administration prides themselves on having all these MBAs. The 
first thing you do when you have an MBA is assess the people around 
you. They have either got the greatest amount of names that have ever 
been assembled or the greatest amount of truth tellers, but they cannot 
handle the truth there.
  I do not understand how they have hired Richard Foster, current chief 
Medicare actuary, who wanted to tell the truth about the cost of the 
prescription drug. Paul O'Neill, former Secretary of Treasury, former 
chairman of ALCOA, he told the truth about what was happening to 
America's fiscal house. Joe Wilson, former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria. 
Eric Shinseki, retired Army chief of staff. John DiIullio, former White 
House director of the faith-based initiatives. Anthony Zinni, retired 
Marine general and President Bush's envoy to the Mideast. Larry 
Lindsey, the President's former chairman of the Council of Economic 
Advisers, and now Dick Clark. These people told the truth despite the 
pressure to otherwise tell the American people the facts. For these 
acts of simple honesty, they deserve to be called patriots rather than 
be cast aside and have their patriotism and their professionalism 
questioned.
  Let us review the facts: Richard Foster, current chief Medicare 
actuary. The truth: the chief Medicare actuary, Richard Foster, 
revealed the real cost of the Medicare bill was $550 billion, not $400 
billion. Consequences: he was warned that the consequences for 
insubordination are extremely severe if he told the Congress and the 
American people the truth.
  Bruce Buckheit, EPA director for air quality. Truth: Mr. Buckheit 
said the new mercury standards were written to benefit the 
administration's corporate friends and polluters. Consequences: five 
current EPA officials corroborated Buckheit's story, but according to 
the Los Angeles Times chose to remain anonymous for fear of 
retribution. Mr. Buckheit resigned in December. EPA Administrator 
Leavitt is now reexamining the mercury rule and may propose a more 
stringent one, but he had to leave.
  Paul O'Neill, former Secretary of the Treasury. Truth: Secretary 
O'Neill described in his book, ``The Price of Loyalty,'' that President 
Bush is distracted, incurious and makes decision on the economy and 
national security based on poor information or for political motives. 
He called President Bush ``a blind man in a room full of deaf people.'' 
He criticized his tax cuts and his plan to invade Iraq since week one. 
He criticized the tax cuts because he said they would leave America 
fiscally unsound. We have $3 trillion additional debt because of these 
tax cuts. Consequence: it took the White House less than 24 minutes 
after Mr. O'Neill's ``60 Minutes'' interview to launch an investigation 
into his use of ``classified'' documents and then they fired him. He 
was actually fired before that.
  I will submit the rest of my text into the Record herewith.
  Joseph C. Wilson--former U.S. Ambassador to Niger.
  Truth: In a July 6, 2003, New York Times Op-Ed, Ambassador Wilson 
challenged the President's claim that Iraq tried to buy uranium ore 
from Africa. The White House later admitted he was correct and the 
President's claim shouldn't have appeared in the State of the Union 
address.
  Consequence: According to government sources, Administration 
officials leaked the name of Ambassador Wilson's wife, an undercover 
CIA agent, to a journalist. A White House senior official admitted 
about the leak, ``Clearly, it was meant purely and imply for revenge.''
  General Shinseki--retired Army Chief of Staff.
  Truth: Army Chief of Staff General Eric Shinseki told Congress that 
occupying Iraq would require ``several hundred thousand troops.''
  Consequence: Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz criticized his estimate as 
``wildly off the mark.'' Shinseki later resigned.
  John DiIulio--former White House Director of Faith Based Initiatives.
  Truth: ``There is no precedent in any modern White House for what is 
going on in this one: a complete lack of a policy apparatus,'' DiIulio 
told Esquire in January 2003. ``What you've got is everything--and I 
mean everything--being run by the political arm. It's the reign of the 
Mayberry Machiavellis.''
  Consequence: Under intense pressure from the White House, DiIulio 
apologized for his

[[Page H1348]]

statement and was forced to say he didn't mean it.
  General Zinni--Retired Marine General and President Bush's envoy to 
the Middle East.
  Truth: Zinni, a retired Marine Corps General who was Bush's middle 
east envoy, told a foreign policy forum before the Iraq war that the 
Administration had far more pressing policy priorities than Iraq and 
said there could be a prolonged, difficult occupation after the war.
  Consequence: Zinni was not reappointed.
  Larry Lindsey--the President's former chairman of the Council of 
Economic Advisors.
  Truth: Larry Lindsey told a newspaper that the Iraq war would cost 
$200 billion.
  Consequence: The President fired him.
  As President Ronald Reagan said, facts are stubborn things. Richard 
Clarke and the many others we should recognize as Patriots have pulled 
back the curtain and revealed facts that are not only stubborn, but 
also inconvenient and damaging to Mr. Bush, the self-described ``War 
President.'' They told the truth and are now facing the consequences.

                          ____________________