[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 170 (Wednesday, November 18, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H8286-H8287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SYRIAN REFUGEES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Rangel) for 5 minutes.

[[Page H8287]]

  

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to join with the millions of 
Americans that feel heart-based sympathy for the loss of our friends in 
Europe and France, particularly Paris, and, of course, to give sympathy 
to those people that are absolutely hysterical on this issue as relates 
to refugees, even though there is no evidence at all that it was 
refugees that were responsible for the attacks.
  These types of unprovoked attacks do cause fear and, many times, 
irresponsible behavior on behalf of people, as they attempt to instill 
fear in all people to such an extent that it shatters the principles 
which this country was built on.

                              {time}  1030

  Nevertheless, there is enough for us to be concerned about. There is 
enough for us to be fearful about, and there has to be concern as to 
what are we going to do about it.
  Those that read in the media and listen to it--and even Members of 
Congress--will find that we have people that are now saying that we 
can't win this war against ISIS unless we have more of our military on 
the ground fighting against the Assad government.
  We talk about sending troops overseas to put their lives in harm's 
way as though it is just another foreign policy decision that Members 
of Congress can make without any regard at all to the constitutional 
responsibility we have to ourselves and to be an example for the world.
  Whenever this great Nation is threatened, whenever our national 
security is threatened, the President should be coming to this House of 
Representatives and the Senate and sharing with us what are the threats 
to our national security. And when it becomes abundantly clear that we 
have to call upon our military in any way, we should have a declaration 
of war for the reasons that the President has given to us.
  Our responsibility to our constituents is to share as much 
information as we can to tell them that war means sacrifice, loss of 
life.
  Yet, today, we haven't had a declaration of war since Franklin 
Roosevelt. Tens of thousands of Americans have died.
  In this recent crisis, less than 1 percent of eligible Americans have 
actually put themselves in harm's way because of executive mandate and 
the allowance of the Congress to allow this to happen. And we have 
lost, just in Afghanistan and Iraq, 7,000 American lives that some of 
us have to go to the funerals and explain the best that we can that, 
even though we are not at war, there would be American lives lost in 
foreign countries.
  I submit to you that if we believe that our national security is 
threatened, we should have a declaration of war, we should have a 
draft, and we should have a way to pay for these wars, so that we would 
know that it is not easy sending your loved ones abroad and not even 
know the reasons that they are there.
  It would seem to me that, as everyone heard, the President of France 
says they are at war against ISIS, that if we are at war against ISIS, 
whatever country they are representing, it should be brought to the 
American people. It should be brought to the Congress, and the 
President should ask us to declare war.
  But it is just totally not fair for people in the House of 
Representatives to come here and to say that Americans should be sent 
overseas to fight an unknown enemy, to put their lives in jeopardy and, 
perhaps, their families in jeopardy, without being able to say that 
they are fighting a war to preserve democracy in this country.
  It just seems to me that whether you call them no feet on the ground, 
but boots on the ground, that if someone's coming back here with a 
flag-draped coffin, that we should be able to say they fought for 
America, they died for America, and that we are fighting for peace and 
to end a war that has yet to be declared.

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