[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 196 (Monday, December 19, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H9940-H9943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   PROVIDING FOR PLACEMENT OF STATUE OR BUST OF WINSTON CHURCHILL IN 
                                CAPITOL

  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend 
the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 497) to provide for the 
placement of a statue or bust of Sir Winston Churchill in the United 
States Capitol.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 497

       Whereas Sir Winston Churchill was Prime Minister of the 
     United Kingdom from 1940 through 1945 and from 1951 through 
     1955;
       Whereas the United States and the United Kingdom led the 
     Allied Powers during World War Two;
       Whereas President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Sir Winston 
     Churchill formed a

[[Page H9941]]

     bond that united freedom-loving people throughout the world 
     to defeat tyranny in Europe and Asia;
       Whereas, on December 26, 1941, Sir Winston Churchill 
     addressed a Joint Session of Congress;
       Whereas during that speech, Sir Winston Churchill said, 
     ``Sure I am that this day--now we are the masters of our 
     fate; that the task which has been set us is not above our 
     strength; that its pangs and toils are not beyond our 
     endurance. As long as we have faith in our cause and an 
     unconquerable will-power, salvation will not be denied us. In 
     the words of the Psalmist, `He shall not be afraid of evil 
     tidings; his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.' Not all 
     the tidings will be evil.'';
       Whereas December 26, 2011, is the 70th anniversary of this 
     speech to a joint session of Congress;
       Whereas Sir Winston Churchill was made an Honorary Citizen 
     of the United States by an act of Congress in 1963;
       Whereas Sir Winston Churchill was awarded the Congressional 
     Gold Medal in 1969;
       Whereas Sir Winston Churchill's persistence, determination 
     and resolve remains an inspiration to freedom-fighters all 
     over the world;
       Whereas the United Kingdom remains and will forever be an 
     important and irreplaceable ally to the United States; and
       Whereas the United States Capitol does not currently 
     appropriately recognize the contributions of Sir Winston 
     Churchill or that of the United Kingdom: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Architect of the Capitol place an 
     appropriate statue or bust of Sir Winston Churchill in the 
     United States Capitol at a location directed by the House 
     Fine Arts Board in consultation with the Speaker.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Daniel E. Lungren) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Connolly) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend 
their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H. Res. 497 and the placement of a statue or 
bust of Winston Churchill here in the United States Capitol. Winston 
Churchill was unique. An inspiration to millions around the world 
during World War II, Winston Churchill's eloquence and courage brought 
hope to those bound under the weight of tyranny and war.
  His prose and his voice were direct and succinct. Churchill believed 
in calling things by their rightful names. When he secretly met with 
President Roosevelt in August of 1941 and signed the Atlantic Charter, 
Churchill made sure that it referred specifically to ``Nazi tyranny.'' 
Always a straight shooter, Churchill called it like it was. In 
retrospect, many people think that it's easy for that kind of 
nomenclature to be used, but at the time, it was unique. During the 
1930s, when voice after voice cautioned against taking too strong a 
stance against Nazi Germany, Winston Churchill refused to ignore the 
gathering storm.
  In 1982, Mr. Speaker, I was a young, second-term Member of this 
House. But I, like millions of Americans, was inspired that year by the 
actions and words of our 40th President, who traveled across the 
Atlantic in June of that year to address Parliament. He did so out of 
an appreciation of the common liberty-loving and natural rights-
affirming heritage Great Britain and the United States had shared, and 
which he thought must be protected at all costs.
  And as he should have, President Reagan quoted frequently from 
Churchill that day, for there was no other statesman in the 20th 
century who had thought, who had contemplated, who had written, and who 
had taught us about war, about the motives of man, and about the causes 
of and necessities present for civilization to survive. That is why 
Churchill's hatred of tyranny burned so deep, and why his warnings 
about oppression before and after the war were so prescient.

                              {time}  1710

  Mr. Speaker, during the long dark night of war in 1940 and 1941, 
before the United States was there to aid its ally, Britain suffered 
the horrors of attack after attack, as all others on the continent had 
fallen and it was left alone, separated only by the channel from utter 
destruction.
  During Nazi bombing attacks on London, the great and majestic St. 
Paul's Cathedral was badly damaged. It looked like it would crumble in 
flames, but it did not. One of the most inspired images of the war is 
of St. Paul's with smoke billowing all around it, standing tall, 
refusing to fall, and reminding us of the things for which Britain was 
fighting. And like that image, Winston Churchill's example does the 
same, and so much more.
  Almost 70 years ago to the day, Prime Minister Churchill risked his 
life in a U-boat attack in a secret voyage across the Atlantic. On 
December 26, 1941, in an address to a joint session of Congress, he 
said: ``I avow my hope and faith, sure and inviolate, that in the days 
to come the British and American peoples will, for their own safety and 
for the good of all, walk together in majesty, in justice, and in 
peace.'' This is a charge to which I hope this Congress will still 
aspire.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this resolution, I urge my colleagues to 
support it, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this 
resolution, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Winston Churchill, who was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1940 
to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955, is one of the foremost world 
figures of the 20th century. He was renowned for leading his nation 
through most of World War II. And in addition to his well-known oratory 
skills, Churchill was a talented writer and painter. And he's the only 
British Prime Minister to receive the Nobel Prize in literature for his 
numerous works, including the six-volume set ``The Second World War.''
  Churchill served in the British House of Commons and as a Cabinet 
Minister in several posts before being selected as Prime Minister in 
1940. A great ally to the United States during World War II, Churchill 
was the architect of the Grand Alliance between the United States and 
the Soviet Union. He forged a strong relationship with President 
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and the two had numerous historic meetings 
shaping the direction of the war and what came after it. One such 
meeting resulted in the creation of the Atlantic Charter, which later 
led to the creation of the United Nations.
  As with other historical figures, Mr. Speaker, Churchill's life was 
fraught with complexity and contradictions. He held antediluvian views 
with respect to race, for example, which was long a point of contention 
with respect to the peoples of India and his relationship specifically 
with Gandhi.
  During World War I, he was First Lord of the Admiralty; and it was he 
who set in motion the failed assault at Gallipoli in a futile effort to 
capture the Ottoman capital of Constantinople in hopes of securing a 
sea route to Russia. That failure forced him out of the government, and 
it was years before he would return warning of the threat Hitler 
presented in Germany.
  That ability to define injustice and pursue actions with clarity of 
purpose in the absolute face of evil no matter what the consequences is 
one of the traits that helped him transcend his human flaws and foibles 
and enter the ranks of the great statesmen of the 20th century.
  He stood alone in the 1930s, issuing jeremiad after jeremiad about 
the Nazi threat; and his peers were heedless, tragically heedless, of 
his warning. His years in the political wilderness then showed 
consummate courage and resolve. He never lost the clarity of 
recognition of evil, and in fact that extended into a decade later when 
he warned in a Missouri speech about Stalin's Iron Curtain.
  In recognition of his contributions to our Nation and our 
international alliances, Churchill was the first person to be made an 
honorary citizen of the United States. And it is fitting that we now 
recognize the 70th anniversary of his address before a joint session of 
Congress, mentioned by Mr. Lungren of California, by requesting to have 
a statue of him displayed here in the Capitol.
  If would not be the first time Churchill's life work has been honored 
in this

[[Page H9942]]

Capitol. A bronze statuette of Churchill presented to the Joint 
Committee on the Library was in fact placed in Statuary Hall from 1985 
to 1986, and it has since been on display in the Ways and Means 
Committee of the House.
  Mr. Speaker, I support the resolution honoring a great American ally, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure 
to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the author 
of this resolution and distinguished Speaker of the House.
  Mr. BOEHNER. I thank my colleague for yielding.
  As they've pointed out, next week, December 26, marks the 70th 
anniversary of Winston Churchill's address to a joint meeting of the 
Congress.
  Less than 3 weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 
Churchill arrived in Washington to begin coordinating military strategy 
with the President and leaders of Congress. During his address, he 
warned the Congress of the difficult path that lay ahead. He spoke of 
the many disappointments and unpleasant surprises that were going to 
await us.
  Regarding the Japanese aggressors, he asked, ``What kind of a people 
do they think we are? Is it possible that they do not realize that we 
shall never cease to persevere against them until they've been taught a 
lesson which they and the world will never forget?''
  Churchill's joint address became known as the ``Masters of Our Fate'' 
speech. In it he said, ``Now we are the masters of our fate. As long as 
we have faith in our cause and an unconquerable willpower, salvation 
will not be denied us.''
  In declaring war against the Axis powers, Churchill said, ``the 
United States--united as never before--have drawn the sword for freedom 
and cast away the scabbard.''
  This resolution will honor the former British Prime Minister by 
placing a bust of him in the United States Capitol. The British, 
similarly, have a statue of Abraham Lincoln in the park across from 
their Parliament.
  Winston Churchill was the best friend America ever had. I ask my 
colleagues to join me in honoring his legacy of persistence, 
determination, and resolve.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes 
to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Harper), the distinguished 
chairman of the Subcommittee on Elections for the Committee on House 
Administration.
  Mr. HARPER. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I rise today in support of H. Res. 497, providing for the placement 
of a statue or bust of Sir Winston Churchill in the United States 
Capitol.
  Mr. Speaker, much has been said and written about Winston Churchill. 
Most prominently, he served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 
from 1940 through 1945 and again from 1951 through 1955. But he was so 
much more.
  During the 20th century's darkest hour, Winston Churchill warned of 
the approaching evil, stood tall when it arrived, and inspired his 
citizens and ours, and liberty-loving people around the world, to 
fight, to persevere, and to never surrender before victory was assured.
  He knew that the long road of our humanity-affirming progress could 
not end and was not going to end in defeat to tyranny.
  Mr. Speaker, we are, in fact, one week away, as has been said, from 
the 70th anniversary of Churchill's address to a joint session of 
Congress. On December 26, 1941, with our Nation still in shock after 
the attack on Pearl Harbor and simultaneous defeats and setbacks across 
the Pacific, and more than 2 long years since the invasion of Poland, 
Prime Minister Churchill, as this resolution reminds us, said: ``Sure I 
am that this day--now we are the masters of our fate, that the task 
which has been set us is not above our strength, that its pains and 
toils are not beyond our endurance. As long as we have faith in our 
cause and an unconquerable willpower, salvation will not be denied 
us.''
  Mr. Speaker, World War II was a cataclysmic conflict which engulfed 
the world in 6 long and bloody years and took approximately 60 million 
lives.

                              {time}  1720

  Whole continents were engulfed in flames. Europe as we knew it was 
overrun. Poland, Belgium, France, Italy, Norway, Finland, Denmark, 
Greece, and many others all were conquered by the Nazi inferno, until 
only Britain stood alone. And in those days, Churchill, his people, the 
heroic Royal Air Force, and the courage summoned from the depths of 
their character rose to meet the evil face to face.
  Mr. Speaker, Winston Churchill was made an Honorary Citizen of the 
United States by an act of Congress in 1963. He was awarded the 
Congressional Gold Medal in 1969. His strength, fortitude, and resolve 
have stood, and will forever stand, the test off time; and his life and 
example will be one of those guiding lights to which we always look in 
troublesome days, whenever they should appear.
  It is more than appropriate to have a statue or bust of Sir Winston 
Churchill in our great Capitol, and I support H. Res. 497.
  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes 
to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), a distinguished member of the 
Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committees.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Winston Churchill, born to a British 
father and an American mother. Winston Churchill, to me, is the person 
of the 20th century that is an example of a leader that motivated the 
free world in its defeat of the tyrants of tyranny.
  His importance to us here today is not only because he served as 
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 when our two 
nations battled together to save civilization from the grips of the 
Nazis and the Japanese, but also because of his steadfast unwillingness 
to ever surrender. He still serves as a guiding light to America and to 
free peoples throughout the world.
  In World War II, during the Battle of Britain, London endured 
systematic bombing by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights, which 
destroyed or damaged over a million London homes and killed more than 
40,000 British citizens. To bolster resolve among the British people, 
Winston Churchill gave the following speech:
  ``Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous states 
have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all of the 
apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail.
  ``We shall go on to the end; we shall fight in France; we shall fight 
on the seas and the oceans; we shall fight with growing confidence and 
growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island, whatever the 
cost may be.
  ``We shall fight on the beaches; we shall fight on the landing 
grounds; we shall fight in the fields and in the streets; we shall 
fight in the hills.
  ``We shall never surrender.''
  Mr. Speaker, history shows Britain never did surrender. And along 
with the United States and the rest of the Allies, they defeated 
tyranny and the zeal of the Nazi to enslave peoples in the East and the 
West.
  Today our country faces many daunting problems. The world is still a 
very dangerous place, and there are those who would snuff out the flame 
of freedom. We can learn from the resolve of Winston Churchill. Our 
Nation will get through tough times, both home and abroad, just as the 
Allies did in World War II.
  Americans need to be strong and courageous, not timid and weak; work 
together and remember, as Churchill so eloquently encouraged the 
British people in 1940, that some things are worth fighting for. And, 
Mr. Speaker, America is one of those noble ideals.
  And that's just the way it is.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to 
reclaim my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. I thank the gentleman and the Speaker and 
the chairman for their kindness and recognition for 2 minutes today.
  Coming in from Houston, I had the privilege of being with Reservists 
that

[[Page H9943]]

visited one of my hospitals that serves military families and, of 
course, the soldiers and veterans. They serve them on the issue of 
posttraumatic stress disorder.
  I say that because it was a feeling of warmth and family, first 
acknowledging, as I wear this yellow ribbon, of those who have come 
home and those who have done their duty.
  I believe that the acknowledgment of Sir Winston Churchill is an 
appropriate action for this Congress, but really on behalf of the 
American people. And I read quickly this quote in brief of his words: 
``Sure I am that this day, now, we are the masters of our fate; that 
the task which has been set us is not above our strength.''
  Although this was in the context of World War II, I plead with my 
colleagues who are all arriving back by train, bus, airplane, and car, 
that this is a time that is within our strength to not, in any way, 
yield to the tasks and not accomplish on behalf of the American people. 
We are masters of our fate.
  We have before us the Senate conference on the payroll tax and 
employment extension. Vote on it. Vote together in a bipartisan manner. 
Realize that there are differences, but that we have another day, as 
was devised by the Senate, by February, to be able to debate this 
issue.
  The American people thought this was settled.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. I yield the gentlelady an additional 30 
seconds.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. People who are hungry for payroll tax 
relief, $1,000; people who are looking for the unemployment extension; 
those who are getting $1,000, those who would be beneficiaries of the 
400,000 jobs, and those who will be beneficiaries of the unemployment 
extension that will help them pay their mortgage or help them pay their 
rent or food or the necessities of life, putting those monies into the 
economy, the American people thought we were finished, thought we had 
compromised, thought we had risen to our higher angels.
  And so, if our soldiers and those who are returning can do their job, 
I'm pleading, in a bipartisan manner, let us vote for the Senate bill. 
Let us move this forward, and let us realize that we are the masters of 
our fate.
  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Returning to the subject at hand, we have the great portrait of 
General Lafayette here in the House Chamber, one of seven honorary 
citizens of the United States, Winston Churchill being another.
  Winston Churchill was, as is evident, one of the great men of the 
last century, one for whom inspiration was a way of life, and one who, 
as the Speaker said just a few moments ago, was the best ally that the 
United States has ever had.
  As a young boy, having been born somewhat after World War II, I 
remember with fascination seeing this figure on television. He seemed 
to remind me of every newborn baby I've ever seen. They all look like 
Winston Churchill without the cigar. You wondered what was it that made 
this man great. And you began to read history. You began to talk with 
your father who had served in World War II about what this man was, and 
you realized this was someone who, in his youth, was involved in 
cavalry charges, and in his oldest age, was leader of a country at the 
beginning of the thermonuclear world.
  Talk about the span of time and the span of greatness and the ability 
to perceive, through all of that time, despite his mistakes, being a 
fallible man, perceive the greatness of the individual and the 
opportunity that democracy gives to individuals as no other form of 
government does.

                              {time}  1730

  At the time when he criticized Nazi Germany, it was not something 
that all then said. The late Christopher Hitchens, in an April 2002 
article in ``The Atlantic,'' said this:

       But alone among his contemporaries, Churchill did not 
     denounce the Nazi empire merely as a threat, actual or 
     potential, to the British one. Nor did he speak of it as a 
     depraved but possibly useful ally. He excoriated it as a 
     wicked and nihilistic thing. That appears facile now, but was 
     exceedingly uncommon then. In what was perhaps his best ever 
     speech, delivered to the Commons 5 days after the Munich 
     agreement on October 5, 1938, Churchill gave voice to the 
     idea that even a ``peace-loving'' coexistence with Hitler had 
     something rotten about it. ``What I find unendurable is the 
     sense of our country falling into the power, into the orbit 
     and influence of Nazi Germany, and of our existence becoming 
     dependent upon their good will or pleasure.''

  That was an uncommon statement at the time. That was a courageous 
statement at the time. That was a visionary statement at the time.
  It is to honor that vision, it is to honor that ally, it is to honor 
that person who was dedicated to the best of Western civilization, who 
was one who stood with very few at a time when that civilization was 
threatened as never before.
  Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to be on the floor to offer this 
resolution to allow for, to authorize, a statue or bust of Winston 
Churchill here in the United States Capitol.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time as I urge my 
colleagues to vote for this resolution.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Daniel E. Lungren) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 497.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________