[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 127 (Friday, August 3, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10938-S10940]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 302--CENSURING THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT

  Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself, Mr. Harkin, and Mrs. Boxer) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                              S. Res. 302

       Resolved,

     SECTION 1. BASIS FOR CENSURE.

       (a) Iraq's Alleged Nuclear Program.--The Senate finds the 
     following:
       (1) In December 2001, the intelligence community assessed 
     that Iraq did not appear to have reconstituted its nuclear 
     weapons program.
       (2) The October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate 
     assessed that Iraq did not have a nuclear weapon or 
     sufficient material to make one, and that without sufficient 
     fissile material acquired from abroad, Iraq probably would 
     not be able to make a weapon until 2007 or 2009.
       (3) On October 6, 2002, the Central Intelligence Agency 
     advised the White House to remove references to Iraq seeking 
     uranium from Africa from a Presidential speech, citing weak 
     evidence.
       (4) In November 2002, the United States Government told the 
     International Atomic Energy Association that ``reporting on 
     Iraqi attempts to procure uranium from Africa are fragmentary 
     at best.''.
       (5) On March 7, 2003, the Director General of the 
     International Atomic Energy Association reported to the 
     United Nations Security Council that inspectors had found 
     ``no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a 
     nuclear weapons program in Iraq.''.
       (6) On March 11, 2003, the Central Intelligence Agency 
     stated that it did not dispute the International Atomic 
     Energy Association conclusions that the documents on Iraq's 
     agreement to buy uranium from Niger were not authentic.
       (7) President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard B. 
     Cheney overstated the nature and urgency of the threat posed 
     by Saddam Hussein by making repeated, unqualified assertions 
     about an Iraqi nuclear program that were not supported by 
     available intelligence, including--
       (A) on March 22, 2002, President George W. Bush stated that 
     ``[Saddam] is a dangerous man who possesses the world's most 
     dangerous weapons.'';
       (B) on August 26, 2002, Vice President Richard B. Cheney 
     stated that ``[m]any of us are convinced that Saddam will 
     acquire nuclear weapons fairly soon.'';
       (C) on September 8, 2002, Vice President Richard B. Cheney 
     stated that ``[w]e do know, with absolute certainty, that he 
     is using his procurement system to acquire the equipment he 
     needs in order to enrich uranium to build a nuclear 
     weapon.'';
       (D) on September 20, 2002, Vice President Richard B. Cheney 
     stated that ``we now have irrefutable evidence that he has 
     once again set up and reconstituted his program, to take 
     uranium, to enrich it to sufficiently high grade, so that it 
     will function as the base material as a nuclear weapon.'';
       (E) on October 7, 2002, President George W. Bush stated 
     that ``[f]acing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for 
     the final proof--the smoking gun--that could come in the form 
     of a mushroom cloud.'';
       (F) on December 31, 2002, President George W. Bush stated 
     that ``[w]e don't know whether or not [Saddam] has a nuclear 
     weapon.'';
       (G) on January 28, 2003, President George W. Bush stated 
     that ``[t]he British government has learned that Saddam 
     Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium 
     from Africa.''; and
       (H) on March 16, 2003, Vice President Richard B. Cheney 
     stated that ``[w]e believe [Hussein] has, in fact, 
     reconstituted nuclear weapons.''.
       (b) Saddam's Alleged Intent to Use Weapons of Mass 
     Destruction.--The Senate finds the following:
       (1) The October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate 
     assessed that ``Baghdad for now appears to be drawing a line 
     short of conducting terrorist attacks with conventional or 
     CBW against the United States, fearing that exposure of Iraqi 
     involvement would provide Washington a stronger cause for 
     making war'' and that ``Iraq probably would attempt 
     clandestine attacks against the United States Homeland if 
     Baghdad feared an attack that threatened the survival of the 
     regime were imminent or unavoidable, or possibly for 
     revenge.''.
       (2) President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard B. 
     Cheney made misleading statements, that were not supported by 
     the available intelligence, suggesting that Saddam Hussein 
     sought weapons of mass destruction for the purpose of an 
     unprovoked, offensive attack, including--
       (A) on August 26, 2002, Vice President Richard B. Cheney 
     stated that ``. . . there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now 
     has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt he is 
     amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, 
     and against us.'';
       (B) on August 26, 2002, Vice President Richard B. Cheney 
     stated that ``[t]hese are not weapons for the purpose of 
     defending Iraq; these are offensive weapons for the purpose 
     of inflicting death on a massive scale, developed so that 
     Saddam can hold the threat over the head of anyone he 
     chooses, in his own region or beyond.''; and
       (C) on October 2, 2002, President George W. Bush stated 
     that ``On its present course, the Iraqi regime is a threat of 
     unique urgency. We know the treacherous history of the 
     regime. It has waged a war against its neighbors, it has 
     sponsored and sheltered terrorists, it has developed weapons 
     of mass death, it has used them against innocent men, women 
     and children. We know the designs of the Iraqi regime.''.
       (c) Saddam's Alleged Links to Al Qaeda and 9/11.--The 
     Senate finds the following:
       (1) Before the war, the Central Intelligence Agency 
     assessed that ``Saddam has viewed Islamic extremists 
     operating inside Iraq as a threat, and his regime since its 
     inception has arrested and executed members of both Shia and 
     Sunni groups to disrupt their organizations and limit their 
     influence,'' that ``Saddam Hussain and Usama bin Laden are 
     far from being natural partners,'' and that assessments about 
     Iraqi links to al Qaeda rest on ``a body of fragmented, 
     conflicting reporting from sources of varying reliability.''.
       (2) President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard B. 
     Cheney overstated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein by 
     making unqualified assertions that were not supported by 
     available intelligence linking Saddam Hussein to the 
     September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and stating that Saddam 
     Hussein and al Qaeda had a relationship and that Saddam 
     Hussein would provide al Qaeda with weapons of mass 
     destruction for purposes of an offensive attack against the 
     United States, including--
       (A) on September 25, 2002, President George W. Bush stated 
     that ``[Y]ou can't distinguish between al Qa'ida and Saddam 
     when you talk about the war on terror.'';
       (B) on September 26, 2002, President George W. Bush stated 
     that ``[t]he dangers we face will only worsen from month to 
     month and from year to year . . . Each passing day could be 
     the one on which the Iraqi regime gives anthrax or VX--nerve 
     gas--or some day a nuclear weapon to a terrorist ally.'';
       (C) on October 14, 2002, President George W. Bush stated 
     that ``[t]his is a man that we know has had connections with 
     al Qa'ida. This is a man who, in my judgment, would like to 
     use al Qa'ida as a forward army.'';
       (D) on November 7, 2002, President George W. Bush stated 
     that ``[Saddam is] a threat because he is dealing with al 
     Qaida . . . [A] true threat facing our country is that an al 
     Qaida-type network trained and armed by Saddam could attack 
     America and not leave one fingerprint.'';
       (E) on January 31, 2003, President George W. Bush stated 
     that ``Saddam Hussein would like nothing more than to use a 
     terrorist network to attack and to kill and leave no 
     fingerprints behind.'';
       (F) on March 16, 2003, Vice President Richard B. Cheney 
     stated that ``we also have to address the question of where 
     might these terrorists acquire weapons of mass destruction, 
     chemical weapons, biological weapons,

[[Page S10939]]

     nuclear weapons? And Saddam Hussein becomes a prime suspect 
     in that regard because of his past track record and because 
     we know he has, in fact, developed these kinds of 
     capabilities, chemical and biological weapons. We know he's 
     used chemical weapons. And we know he's reconstituted these 
     programs since the Gulf War. We know he's out trying once 
     again to produce nuclear weapons and we know that he has a 
     long-standing relationship with various terrorist groups, 
     including the al-Qaeda organization.'';
       (G) on March 17, 2003, President George W. Bush stated that 
     ``The danger is clear: using chemical, biological or, one 
     day, nuclear weapons obtained with the help of Iraq, the 
     terrorists could fulfill their stated ambitions and kill 
     thousands or hundreds of thousands of innocent people in our 
     country or any other.'';
       (H) on May 1, 2003, President George W. Bush stated that 
     ``[t]he liberation of Iraq . . . removed an ally of al 
     Qaeda.'';
       (I) on September 14, 2003, Vice President Richard B. Cheney 
     stated that ``the Iraqi intelligen[ce] service had a 
     relationship with al Qaeda that developed throughout the 
     decade of the 90's. That was clearly official policy.'';
       (J) on September 14, 2003, Vice President Richard B. Cheney 
     stated that ``[i]f we're successful in Iraq . . . we will 
     have struck a major blow right at the heart of the base, if 
     you will, the geographic base of the terrorists who have had 
     us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 
     9/11.''; and
       (K) on March 21, 2006, President George W. Bush said at a 
     press conference, ``But we realized on September the 11th, 
     2001, that killers could destroy innocent life. And I'm never 
     going to forget it. And I'm never going to forget the vow I 
     made to the American people that we will do everything in our 
     power to protect our people. Part of that meant to make sure 
     that we didn't allow people to provide safe haven to an 
     enemy. And that's why I went into Iraq.''.
       (d) Inadequate Planning and Insufficient Troop Levels.--The 
     Senate finds the following:
       (1) The intelligence community judged in January 2003 that 
     ``[t]he ouster of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussayn would pose a 
     variety of significant policy challenges for whoever assumes 
     responsibility for governing Iraq'' including ``political 
     transformation, controlling internal strife, solving economic 
     and humanitarian challenges, and dealing with persistent 
     foreign policy and security concerns.''.
       (2) The intelligence community judged in January 2003 that 
     ``a post-Saddam authority would face a deeply divided society 
     with a significant chance that domestic groups would engage 
     in violent conflict with each other unless an occupying force 
     prevented them from doing so.''.
       (3) These judgments were delivered to the White House and 
     Office of the Vice President.
       (4) Then Army Chief of Staff General Shinseki testified on 
     February 25, 2003, that ``something on the order of several 
     hundred thousands soldiers'' would be needed to secure Iraq 
     following a successful completion of the war.
       (5) General Abizaid, then-CENTCOM commander, testified 
     before the Senate Armed Services Committee on November 15, 
     2006, that ``General Shinseki was right that a greater 
     international force contribution, United States force 
     contribution and Iraqi force contribution should have been 
     available immediately after major combat operations.''.
       (6) After President George W. Bush declared the end of 
     major combat operations in Iraq, there were insufficient 
     troops to prevent the outbreak of violence and lawlessness 
     that contributed to the flight of millions of Iraqis and the 
     deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqis.
       (7) The Government Accountability Office provided testimony 
     to the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, 
     House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, on March 
     22, 2007, that due to insufficient troop levels, United 
     States forces were unable to secure conventional weapons 
     stockpiles in Iraq that continue to pose a threat to American 
     servicemembers.
       (8) President George W. Bush failed to ensure that plans 
     were prepared and implemented to address the challenges that 
     the intelligence community predicted would occur after the 
     ouster of Saddam Hussein, and in particular failed to ensure 
     that there were sufficient coalition troops in Iraq after 
     major combat operations ended to maintain security and secure 
     weapons stockpiles.
       (e) Strain on Military and Undermining Homeland Security.--
     The Senate finds the following:
       (1) Retired Major General John Batiste, former commander of 
     the First Infantry Division in Iraq, testified before the 
     House Committee on Foreign Affairs on June 27, 2007, that 
     ``[o]ur Army and Marine Corps are at a breaking point at a 
     time in history when we need a strong military the most. The 
     cycle of deployments is staggering. American formations 
     continue to lose a battalion's worth of dead and wounded 
     every month with little to show for it. The current 
     recruiting system falls drastically short of long-term 
     requirements and our all-volunteer force can not sustain the 
     current tempo for much longer. The military is spending over 
     $1,000,000,000 a year in incentives in a last ditch effort to 
     keep the force together. Young officers and noncommissioned 
     officers are leaving the service at an alarming rate.''.
       (2) Extended deployments of 15 months, and insufficient 
     time to rest and train between deployments, have undermined 
     the readiness of the Army.
       (3) The Army National Guard reported as early as July 2005 
     that equipment transfers to deploying units ``had largely 
     exhausted its inventory of more than 220 critical items, 
     including some items useful to nondeployed units for training 
     and domestic missions.''.
       (4) The Government Accountability Office found, in 
     September 2006, that ``[a]mong the items for which the Army 
     National Guard had shortages of over 80 percent of the 
     authorized inventory were chemical warfare monitoring and 
     decontamination equipment and night vision goggles''.
       (5) President George W. Bush's policies in Iraq have 
     undermined homeland security by depleting the personnel and 
     equipment needed by the National Guard.
       (f) Insurgency in ``Last Throes''.--The Senate finds the 
     following:
       (1) Multi-National Force-Iraq reports indicate that the 
     number of attacks on coalition forces has increased since the 
     beginning of military action.
       (2) The Government Accountability Office, in March 2007, 
     reported that attacks using improvised explosive devices 
     continued to increase between 2005 and July 2006.
       (3) On June 23, 2005, General John Abizaid, in his capacity 
     as head of Central Command, testified before the Senate Armed 
     Services Committee about the state of the insurgency that 
     ``[i]n terms of comparison from 6 months ago, in terms of 
     foreign fighters I believe there are more foreign fighters 
     coming into Iraq than there were 6 months ago. In terms of 
     the overall strength of the insurgency, I'd say it's about 
     the same as it was.''.
       (4) President George W. Bush's Initial Benchmark Assessment 
     report from July 12, 2007, states that ``[a]s a result of 
     increased offensive operations, Coalition and Iraqi Forces 
     have sustained increased attacks in Iraq, particularly in 
     Baghdad, Diyala, and Salah ad Din.''.
       (5) Vice President Richard B. Cheney made misleading 
     statements that the insurgency in Iraq was in its ``last 
     throes,'' including--
       (A) on May 30, 2005, Vice President Richard B. Cheney said, 
     ``The level of activity that we see today from a military 
     standpoint, I think, will clearly decline. I think they're in 
     the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency.''; and
       (B) on June 19, 2006, Vice President Richard B. Cheney was 
     asked whether he still supported the comment he made in 2005, 
     regarding the fact that the insurgency in Iraq was in its 
     ``last throes,'' to which he responded ``I do.''

     SEC. 2. CENSURE BY THE SENATE.

       The Senate censures President George W. Bush and Vice 
     President Richard B. Cheney for--
       (1) misleading the American people about the basis for 
     going to war in Iraq;
       (2) failing to plan adequately for the war;
       (3) pursuing policies in Iraq that have strained our 
     military and undermined our homeland security; and
       (4) misleading the American people about the insurgency in 
     Iraq.

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I am introducing two censure 
resolutions condemning the President, Vice President, and Attorney 
General for their misconduct relating to the war in Iraq and for their 
repeated assaults on the rule of law. These censure resolutions are 
critical steps to hold the administration accountable for the 
misconduct and egregious abuses of the law that we have witnessed over 
the past 6\1/2\ years.
  When future generations look back at the misbehavior of this 
administration, they need to know that an equal branch of Government 
stood up and formally repudiated that misbehavior. They need to know 
that this administration was not allowed to violate with impunity the 
principles on which our Nation was founded.
  Some have said that censure does too little. Others protest that it 
goes too far. I understand the concerns of those who believe that this 
administration deserves worse than censure. I agree that censure is not 
a cure for the devastating toll this administration's actions have had 
on this country. But it is a step in the right direction and it most 
certainly is important for the historical record. Because censure does 
not require multiple impeachments in the House and trials in the 
Senate, or the support of two-thirds of Senators, it is far less 
cumbersome than impeachment. We can pass these resolutions without 
taking significant time away from our efforts to address other pressing 
matters.
  The first resolution, S. Res. 302, cosponsored by Senators Harkin and 
Boxer, censures the President and Vice President for their misconduct 
relating to the war in Iraq. It cites their misleading pre-war 
statements, which

[[Page S10940]]

were not based on available intelligence, exaggerating the threat posed 
by Saddam Hussein and the likelihood that he had nuclear weapons, and 
falsely implying that he had a relationship with al Qaeda and links to 
9/11. This resolution also condemns the President's appalling failure 
to ensure that adequate plans were in place to address the post-Saddam 
problems predicted by the intelligence community, and in particular his 
failure to ensure that sufficient troops were deployed to maintain 
order and secure weapons stockpiles in Iraq. The resolution censures 
the President for pursuing policies in Iraq that have placed unfair 
burdens on our brave men and women in uniform and undermined our 
homeland security. The resolution censures the Vice President for his 
misleading statements about the Iraqi insurgency being in its ``last 
throes.'' The Vice President's recent, belated concession that he was 
incorrect does not mitigate his efforts to mislead the American people 
on this point.
  The second resolution, S. Res. 303, cosponsored by Senator Harkin, 
censures the President and Attorney General for undermining the rule of 
law. The President and Attorney General have shown flagrant disregard 
for statutes, for treaties ratified by the United States, and for our 
own Constitution--all in an effort to consolidate more and more power 
in the executive branch. In the process, they have repeatedly misled 
the American people. Among the abuses of the rule of law that this 
censure resolution addresses are the illegal warrantless wiretapping 
program at the National Security Agency, the administration's 
interrogation policy, extreme positions taken on treatment of detainees 
that have been repeatedly rejected by the Supreme Court, misleading 
statements by the President and the Attorney General on the USA PATRIOT 
Act, the refusal to recognize and cooperate with Congress's legitimate 
responsibility to conduct oversight, and the use of signing statements 
that further demonstrate this President does not believe he has to 
follow the laws that Congress writes.
  More than a year ago, I introduced a resolution to censure the 
President for breaking the law with his warrantless wiretapping program 
and for misleading the public and Congress before and after the program 
was revealed. This time, I am taking a broader approach because 
evidence of the administration's misconduct, misleading statements and 
abuses of power has only mounted since then.
  While I do not believe impeachment proceedings would be best for the 
country, I share the public's deep anger at this administration's 
repeated and serious wrongdoing and its refusal to acknowledge or 
answer for its actions. These two resolutions give Congress a way to 
condemn the administration's actions without taking time and energy 
away from the other critically important work before us.
  Passing these resolutions would also make clear, not only to the 
American people today, but also to future generations, how this 
President and this administration misserved the country. History will 
judge them, and us, by our actions, so we must formally condemn the 
malfeasance of this President and his administration.
  Censure is a measured approach that both holds this administration 
accountable and allows Congress to focus on ending the war in Iraq, 
protecting the rule of law and addressing the many other needs of the 
American people. I am pleased to be working with Congressman Maurice 
Hinchey, who is introducing companion legislation.

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