[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 31 (Thursday, March 3, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1173-S1174]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             SOMALI PIRATES

  Mr. KIRK. With the cold-blooded murder of four Americans by pirates, 
our country faces a dangerous enemy as old as the second Washington 
administration and the earliest days of the U.S. Navy.
  This danger now stretches across our vital oil supply lanes and 
threatens not just Americans handing out Bibles at Indian Ocean ports 
of call but our vital supply of energy. I think it is time to recall 
the tough choices made by the Jefferson administration to suppress the 
21st century's pirates in this new chapter.
  We may forget that as much as 10 percent of all Federal revenues were 
paid by the Washington administration to the Barbary pirates operating 
in what became Libya. Payments continued under the Adams and Jefferson 
administrations, but as always with kidnappers and pirates, ransoms 
only led to more danger on the high seas.
  In 1801, President Thomas Jefferson decided that payments of tribute 
to the Barbary States in exchange for the safe passage of American 
shipping vessels had gone far enough. Over the next 5 years, Jefferson 
sent the new U.S. Navy--ironically built over his objection--to attack 
and defeat the pirates. In the conflict that followed, new American 
heroes were made, especially Captain Stephen Decatur. Decatur's 
exploits were dangerous and involved close quarters in combat. In his 
honor, my State of Illinois named one of its major cities after him, 
placing his statue in the city's center.
  In the end, piracy was defeated and the flag of the United States was 
not strongly challenged by pirates until this century.
  In the wake of the murder of four Americans by Somali pirates, we 
need to recall Jefferson's policy under what I would call the ``Decatur 
Initiative'' against Indian Ocean pirates.
  Since 2006, pirates attacked more and more vessels. There were over 
400 attacks just last year. According to the New York Times, the 
modern-day pirates of the 21st century currently hold 50 vessels and 
more than 800 hostages. According to the International Maritime Bureau, 
pirates murdered 379 people with an additional 199 individuals reported 
missing between 1993 and 2009.
  According to reports, the typical pirate ransom in 2005 was between 
$100,000 and $200,000. By 2008, the average ransom grew to between 
$500,000 ad $2 million. One year later, in 2009, the average ransom 
reportedly grew again to a range between $1.5 million and $3.5 million, 
In late 2010, ransoms now hover around $4 million per vessel. Ransom 
payments as large as $9.5 million for a tanker carrying crude oil have 
also been reported by the media.
  Recently, pirates captured a supertanker worth $200 million carrying 
2 million barrels of oil bound for the U.S. Its ransom may become the 
mother load for pirates to extend their reach across the Indian Ocean 
and into the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. We would be naive not to expect 
profits from piracy will not be used to support terrorism against the 
West.
  The Horn of Africa is of crucial importance, not only to the U.S. 
economy, but also to the global market as it serves as a major artery 
of international shipping. The oil tankers that cruise these waters 
provide much of the world's energy supply and we cannot risk the safety 
of those shipments. This region is a potential incubator for the growth 
of two burgeoning al Qaida franchises: al Qaida in the Islamic Magreb, 
AQIM, and Somalia's al-Shabaab group, which has pledged its loyalty to 
Osama bin Laden.
  Yesterday, I raised this issue with our Secretary of State, Hillary 
Clinton. She hinted that our policy may be changing and that is welcome 
news. I asked, ``if we can't be tough on pirates, who can we be tough 
on?''
  Today, I am announcing the start of an effort here in the Senate to 
draft legislation and support administration action along the lines of 
Jefferson's policy on pirates.
  These legislative concepts shall be collectively referred to as the 
``Decatur Initiative,'' Decatur, whose most daring mission involved 
recapturing the U.S.S. Philadelphia from pirates.
  The time has come for us to advance the following: 1. A defined 
``Pirate Exclusion Zone'' that would allow the immediate boarding and/
or sinking of any vessel from Somalia not approved and certified for 
sea by allied forces; 2. an expedited legal regime permitting trial and 
detention of pirates captured on the high seas; 3. a blockade of 
pirate-dominated ports like Hobyo, Somalia; 4. broad powers and 
authority to on-scene commanders to attack or arrest pirates once 
outside Somalia's 12-mile territorial limit--this would include the 
summary sinking of pirate ships if a local commander deems it 
warranted.
  Additionally, I will explore actions to attack the financial links 
between pirates and the terrorist groups such as al Shabaab and target 
pirates with financial sanctions in the same way as other terrorist 
networks.
  In the wake of the recent tragedy in the Arabian Sea, where American 
missionaries were gunned down in cold blood, I am hopeful that many of 
my colleagues will be willing to join me in taking bold action against 
the pirates who have been operating in the waters off East Africa. It 
is ironic that the United States and our allies station substantial 
naval forces against pirates in this region but take little aggressive 
action against them. While the pirates have substantial strength on the 
ground in Somalia, once they're put to sea, we can be their masters and 
they have very weak means to oppose us. A set of vessels blockading 
pirate-dominated ports with aggressive orders to attack and sink any 
vessel leaving Somalia should make quick work of pirate operations.
  The cost of oil and the price of gas is high enough. Further 
increases could endanger our slowly recovering economy. As part of the 
effort to stabilize the price of gas in America, we need to recover 
Jefferson's policy and attack and defeat Somali pirates as soon as they 
leave Somalia's territorial waters.
  In addition, as this body begins to finalize spending legislation for 
the remainder of the year, I would like to highlight the growing danger 
to the U.S. economy and our country.
  We all know that the national debt now tops $14 trillion but we 
should note that this means we are adding $35 billion to our debts each 
week or over $5 billion borrowed each day.
  That $4 billion cut represents just .3 percent of this year's annual 
deficit or just three one-hundredths of 1 percent

[[Page S1174]]

of the current money we owe. The famous Harvard economic historian 
Niall Ferguson said you can mark the decline of a country when it pays 
more money to its lenders than to its army. We have already crossed 
that point. This year the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 
interest payments we will pay to our money lenders will top $225 
billion. That is more than the cost of our Army, which we currently 
estimate costs about $195 billion, or our Air Force, which we estimate 
costs $201 billion, or even our Navy, which will cost $217 billion this 
year.
  Our money lender costs now are higher than the entire gross domestic 
product of the country of Denmark, at $201 billion. We must pay $4 
billion per week in interest or $616 million per day to our money 
lenders. What is worse, interest payments are expected to more than 
double over the next decade and will top $778 billion. That means soon 
we will have to pay our money lenders more than it costs to operate our 
Army, Navy, and Air Force combined at $623 billion.
  Remember also that interest payments on the debt are a form of wealth 
transfer from hard-working middle-class Americans who pay Federal taxes 
to wealthy lenders, many of whom live abroad. For those in the Senate 
who are opposing budget constraints put in by the House, we should 
force them to admit that they are either for higher taxes for the 
American people or more borrowing that transfers wealth from hard-
working middle-class Americans to high-income money lenders, most of 
whom now live abroad.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Will the Senator withhold his 
request?
  Mr. KIRK. I withhold.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Arizona.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak in morning 
business for 10 minutes.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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