[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2208-E2209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      INTRODUCTION OF H. RES. 1106

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CYNTHIA McKINNEY

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, December 8, 2006

  Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, I come before this body today as a proud 
American and as a servant of the American people, sworn to uphold the 
Constitution of the United States.
  Throughout my tenure, I've always tried to speak the truth. It is 
that commitment that brings me here today.
  We have a President who has misgoverned and a Congress that has 
refused to hold him accountable. It is a grave situation and I believe 
the stakes for our country are high.
  No American is above the law, and if we allow a President to violate, 
at the most basic and fundamental level, the trust of the people and 
then continue to govern, without a process for holding him 
accountable--what does that say about our commitment to the truth? To 
the Constitution? To our democracy?
  The trust of the American people has been broken. And a process must 
be undertaken to repair this trust. This process must begin with 
honesty and accountability.
  Leading up to our invasion of Iraq, the American people supported 
this Administration's actions because they believed in our President. 
They believed he was acting in good faith. They believed that American 
laws and American values would be respected. That in the weightiness of 
everything being considered, two values were rock solid--trust and 
truth.
  From mushroom clouds to African yellow cake to aluminum tubes, the 
American people and this Congress were not presented the facts, but 
rather were presented a string of untruths, to justify the invasion of 
Iraq.
  President Bush, along with Vice President Cheney and then-National 
Security Advisor Rice, portrayed to the Congress and to the American 
people that Iraq represented an imminent threat, culminating with 
President Bush's claim that Iraq was six months away from developing a 
nuclear weapon. Having used false fear to buy consent--the President 
then took our country to war.
  This has grave consequences for the health of our democracy, for our 
standing with our allies, and most of all, for the lives of our men and 
women in the military and their families--who have been asked to make 
sacrifices--including the ultimate sacrifice--to keep us safe.
  Just as we expect our leaders to be truthful, we expect them to abide 
by the law and respect our courts and judges. Here again, the President 
failed the American people.
  When President Bush signed an executive order authorizing unlawful 
spying on American citizens, he circumvented the courts and the law, 
and he violated the separation of powers provided by the Constitution. 
Once the program was revealed, he then tried to hide the scope of his 
offense from the American people by making contradictory, untrue 
statements.
  President George W. Bush has failed to preserve, protect, and defend 
the Constitution of the United States; he has failed to ensure that 
senior members of his administration do the same; and he has betrayed 
the trust of the American people.
  With a heavy heart and in the deepest spirit of patriotism, I 
exercise my duty and responsibility to speak truthfully about what is 
before us. To shy away from this responsibility would be easier. But I 
have not been one to travel the easy road. I believe in this country, 
and in the power of our democracy. I feel the steely conviction of one 
who will not let the country I love descend into shame; for the fabric 
of our democracy is at stake.
  Some will call this a partisan vendetta, others will say this is an 
unimportant distraction to the plans of the incoming Congress. But this 
is not about political gamesmanship.
  I am not willing to put any political party before my principles.
  This, instead, is about beginning the long road back to regaining the 
high standards of truth and democracy upon which our great country was 
founded.
  Mr. Speaker, under the standards set by the United States 
Constitution, President Bush--along with Vice President Cheney, and 
Secretary of State Rice--should be subject to the

[[Page E2209]]

process of impeachment, and I have filed H. Res. 1106 in the House of 
Representatives.
  To my fellow Americans, as I leave this Congress, it is in your 
hands--to hold your representatives accountable, and to show those with 
the courage to stand for what is right, that they do not stand alone.

                          ____________________