[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 69 (Wednesday, May 6, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H5273-H5274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                THE SMART PLATFORM FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, between September 11, 2001, and January, 
2009, the United States relied on military force as the primary tool of 
foreign policy. Now we see the tragic results of this tragedy. We 
remain bogged down in Iraq, Afghanistan is in turmoil, Pakistan is on 
the brink of chaos, and the threat of nuclear weapons continues to 
haunt the world.
  It is very clear, Mr. Speaker, that the military option hasn't 
worked. That is why I believe it is time for a new and better approach 
to our foreign policy. This new approach must focus on diplomacy, 
international cooperation, conflict prevention and ending the threat of 
nuclear weapons.
  I have sponsored a comprehensive plan to achieve all of these goals. 
It is called the ``Smart Security Platform For the 21st Century.'' I 
invite all of my colleagues to consider House Resolution 363, which 
describes this plan in detail.
  The Smart Security Platform would help to eliminate the root causes 
of instability and violent conflict in the world by increasing 
development aid and debt relief to the poorest countries. It would 
further address the root causes of violence by supporting programs that 
promote conflict resolution, human rights and democracy building. It 
would also support educational opportunities for the girls and women 
who hardly ever see the inside of a classroom.
  The Smart Security Platform, Mr. Speaker, also calls for the United 
States to work with the U.N. and NATO and other multilateral 
institutions to strengthen international institutions and international 
law. It calls for reducing the threat of weapons of mass destruction 
and conventional weapons by supporting the Comprehensive Test Ban 
Treaty, the Nonproliferation Treaty and the Biological and Chemical 
Weapons Convention. It calls for the adequate funding of the 
Cooperative Threat Reduction program to secure nuclear materials in 
Russia and to secure nuclear materials and other materials in other 
countries as well and to reduce nuclear stockpiles.
  It calls upon the United States to set an example for the rest of the 
world by renouncing the development of new nuclear weapons and working 
towards achieving Ronald Reagan's vision of a world free of nuclear 
weapons. It would reduce our dependence on foreign oil by

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investing in renewable energy alternatives, thereby stopping the flow 
of hundreds of billions of American dollars to irresponsible regimes. 
It includes strategies to strengthen international intelligence and law 
enforcement operations to bring individuals involved in violent acts to 
justice, while respecting human and civil rights. And it supports civil 
organizations and programs in the developing world because they play a 
critically important role in preventing or resolving conflicts.
  I want to thank the cosponsors of H. Res. 363, Chairman John Conyers, 
Chairman Ed Markey, Congresswomen Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters, 
cofounders of the Out of Iraq Caucus, and Congresswoman Gwen Moore, a 
member of the Out of Iraq Caucus.
  Mr. Speaker, the Smart Security Platform For the 21st Century is 
ambitious, wide-ranging and tough. It uses the many national security 
tools that we have. It would make us safer here at home. It would cost 
less than what we are spending now on national security. And it isn't 
``soft'' power, Mr. Speaker. It is real power. It is smart power. It is 
the kind of power we need to make America and the world more secure for 
ourselves and for our children.

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