[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 193 (Thursday, December 15, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H8976]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




A ``NO'' VOTE ON NDAA: LET'S PROTECT AMERICA BY SHOWING OUR COMPASSION 
                               AND HONOR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Woolsey) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, now that the war in Iraq is drawing to a 
close, this is the perfect moment to reset our national security 
strategy, to change our underlying approach to protecting America.
  Unfortunately, on the very day that the President visited Fort Bragg 
to affirm our full military withdrawal from Iraq, this body approved--
without my vote--the National Defense Authorization Act, which will 
continue to dedicate billions upon billions of taxpayer dollars to 
warfare and weaponry.
  While it's true that the bill represents some modest attempt at cuts, 
authorizing less than current law spending and less than the President 
requested, we're still talking about $662 billion in defense programs. 
$662 billion is a lot of money. It is particularly a lot of money at a 
time when the House majority won't part with a thin dime to create jobs 
and is committed to scaling back unemployment benefits.
  The NDAA includes funding for the continued prosecution of the war on 
Afghanistan--a disastrous policy that proves to be a bigger failure 
with each passing day. We continue to spend enormous amounts of the 
American people's money on a war the American people don't support, and 
in so doing, more young Americans are either killed or maimed.
  And to what end? For what benefit? For a policy that has emboldened 
the insurgents, inflamed anti-Americanism, and done little to bring 
peace, security, and stability to Afghanistan.
  The authorization of military spending flies through the Congress 
while the domestic investments we need to put our people back to work 
are dead on arrival on the other side of the aisle. The authorization 
of war spending--exorbitant, excessive amounts of war spending--is 
rubber-stamped by this body when we could be spending pennies on the 
dollar to protect America more effectively with diplomacy, development, 
and other SMART Security tools.
  To make matters even worse, the National Defense Authorization Act 
includes unacceptable provisions relating to the handling of detainees. 
It grants the President--any President--and the military broad powers 
to throw a U.S. citizen in jail indefinitely for suspected terrorist 
ties: without a swift civilian trial, without full rights of due 
process, without the proper presumption of innocence.
  I emphatically reject the idea, Madam Speaker, that defending the 
Nation requires an assault on civil liberties and the rule of law. 
Madam Speaker, it makes no sense to say we are defending freedom by 
undermining freedom, to say we're going to defeat authoritarian forces 
by adopting authoritarian tactics of our very own.
  Just the opposite, in fact.
  We protect American interests and values by showing our Nation's 
compassion and honor--the better angels of our nature and not our 
darkest instincts.
  United States security depends on winning hearts and minds around the 
world, but we'll never do it with military occupations and repressive 
detention policies. We'll do it by bringing our troops home and by 
immediately adopting the principles of a smarter security policy.

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