[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 169 (Tuesday, November 17, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H8246]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                   THE AFTERMATH OF TERRORIST ATTACKS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, we are all horrified by the barbaric 
attacks in Paris designed to slaughter innocent people and inspire 
terror. We stand with the French people and are all committed to 
redoubling our efforts to ensure we keep Americans safe and intensify 
our efforts to eradicate these evil, sinister forces that appear almost 
to be a different species.
  It is important, however, that we think through clearly where we are, 
what we have done, and what makes sense going forward to protect 
Americans and redouble our efforts against this enemy. We must not jump 
to conclusions and do something before it is carefully planned and 
analyzed.
  I was here in the aftermath of the horror of 9/11, the killing of 
innocent Americans in the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, and but for the 
bravery of passengers on United Airlines flight 93, we might well have 
had our Capitol destroyed.
  The Federal Government acted after 9/11, but it is not clear our 
actions were thought out the way they should. We assembled a clumsy 
behemoth, the Department of Homeland Security, the largest department 
we have created since 1947. In retrospect, it is not clear that was the 
wisest course of action. Think about the excessive bureaucracy, charges 
of waste, fraud, and inefficiency in that department. Look at the 
clumsy response to Katrina.
  We passed the PATRIOT Act instead of the bipartisan legislation 
produced by the Committee on the Judiciary. Look at the vast, 
sprawling, shadowy intelligence network, so large nobody actually knows 
precisely how big it is. Remember, the failure of 9/11 to stop the 
attack was not for lack of intelligence. It was a failure to be able to 
use the knowledge we have. There is a danger at times of drowning in 
data.
  The impulse to lash out led to the disastrous war in Iraq. The 
aftermath of that effort has done more to empower ISIS. It not only 
drew people to the movement, but we created a space where they can 
operate, grow, and lash out at us.
  Now we hear what can only be described as crazy talk in the 
Republican Presidential primaries not just about sealing the borders, 
but having a religious test for refugees fleeing terror.
  Remember, the 9/11 attackers did not sneak across the borders, but 
exploited weaknesses in our visa system. Even in Europe, it appears 
that most of the people involved with the attack did not sneak in, 
hidden with Syrian refugees. They were actually people already in 
Europe, radicalized and moving freely about.
  It is appropriate to be concerned, angry, and determined to protect 
innocent people, to hunt down and eliminate these horrific threats. I 
just hope that we learn from our past mistakes about impulse and 
overreach that may not produce its intended results but, instead, may 
leave us with more problems and vulnerability.
  Remember how a college dropout was able to expose vast amounts of 
sensitive American data. Edward Snowden had been a private contractor 
who had worked for the government just a few months.
  Working in a highly charged political environment does not tend to 
bring out the best in Congress. We need to be careful about getting 
this right, that we have the support of the American people, and that 
Congress in a really frustrating time in American politics takes the 
time and energy to craft effective action. Let's try and get on the 
same page rather than a rapid response, which history shows is not 
necessarily the right response.
  Decidedly, turning our back on Syrian refugees is un-American, 
unpatriotic, and morally weak. Turning our back on an entire population 
due to broad-brush characterizations of those who practice a certain 
faith goes against our core values as a country. I think America is 
better than that.
  Seeking compassion for Syrian refugees can be done securely. The 
facts make that clear. A failure to do so would put us on the wrong 
side of history. It would be one of those mistakes we make under 
pressure and would only make us less safe rather than more.

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