[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 156 (Sunday, September 28, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 DUNCAN HUNTER NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009

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                               speech of

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 24, 2008

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the Defense 
Authorization bill. Despite the 2006 mandate from the American people 
to end the war and occupation of Iraq, this bill authorizes the funding 
to continue operations in Iraq well into the 2009 fiscal year. This 
bill authorizes $68.5 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 
addition it authorizes the entirety of the administration's request of 
$542.5 billion for the National Defense budget. This is a grand total 
of $611.1 billion to continue misguided policies such as preemptive 
strikes, interventionism and peace through strength.
  The bill includes absolutely no language calling for the withdrawal 
of our honorable and brave service members in Iraq, 4,170 servicemen 
and women have been killed in Iraq, there have been tens of thousands 
of injuries to our troops and over 1 million innocent Iraqi civilians 
have been killed as a result of the war. The true monetary cost of the 
war is estimated to be $3 trillion. Yet instead of keeping a commitment 
that we made back in 2006 to end the war, we are once again voting on a 
bill that will continue to fund it well into the term of the next 
President. Congress has the ability to end the war and bring our troops 
home simply by refusing to continue funding.
  Additionally, I do not support the authorization for $465.8 million 
to continue development of the European Ground-Based Mid-Course 
Defense, GMD, program despite a lack of assurance that the system will 
work or is needed for the safety of our nation. Congress' continued 
funding of the European GMD only lends credence to the administration's 
misguided claims the system is necessary to defend the U.S. from a 
long-range ballistic missile attack from Iran despite the fact that 
Iran is unlikely to pose such a threat to the United States in the 
foreseeable future.
  Continuing to develop the European GMD has consequences for U.S. 
foreign policy. This deal has exacerbated tensions between the U.S. and 
Russia. There has also been strong opposition by the citizens of the 
Czech Republic and Poland to the placement of the radar and 
interceptors in their respective countries.
  This bill continues to reflect the wrong priorities for our nation's 
security. The continued proliferation of nuclear weapons does not make 
America safer. What will make America safer is to place a priority on 
cooperation with the global community on nuclear nonproliferation 
initiatives. This bill authorizes over $6.6 billion for the nuclear 
weapons activities of the National Nuclear Security Administration, and 
less than $2 billion for nuclear nonproliferation.
  The U.S. administration has established a record of unilateralism 
that undercuts our nation's credibility in the eyes of other nations. 
The repercussions of this record include undermining our security and 
diplomatic integrity. In just under eight years the U.S. administration 
has backtracked on international treaties and conventions. The U.S. has 
rejected the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, refused to sign the Land 
Mine Treaty, withdrawn from the Anti Ballistic Missile Treaty, unsigned 
the Kyoto Protocol, and blocked a verification protocol for the 
Biological Weapons Convention.
  Continuing to keep ``all options on the table'' while refusing to 
engage in diplomacy without preconditions leaves America devoid of any 
moral authority. The idea that peace (the absence of 'violence) can be 
brought about through violence and increasing weapons stockpiles is 
antithetical. The assertion that keeping our nation safe requires us to 
maintain a pre-emptive strike policy is built on a foundation of fear 
and continues to drive Americans further away from each other and the 
world community. The belief that the bulk of our foreign policy should 
be comprised of insisting other countries do what we tell them, while 
we fail to engage in any meaningful global cooperation is hypocritical 
and condescending.
  The security of America lies not in defense spending but in ensuring 
well paid jobs for hardworking Americans, guaranteed health care and a 
strong education for our nation's youth. We must shift our priorities. 
This body must stop spending half of America's tax dollars on the 
funding of the military industrial complex and instead invest in 
economic projects that really will keep America safer. With our economy 
in crisis it should be clear that continuing to hemorrhage money on 
defense spending while our future economic stability is uncertain is 
not in the best interests of our citizens. Congress must wake up. In 
other words, I believe that Congress must reassess our current 
priorities and in so doing begin to provide for the traditional sense 
of security by first ensuring economic security, health security, and 
job security for all.

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