[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H304]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       WE MUST STAND WITH FREEDOM-LOVING NATIONS AROUND THE WORLD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Kinzinger) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KINZINGER. Mr. Speaker, I was reflecting the other day. Last 
week, we all joined together in this Chamber, we held up our right 
hand, and we swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution 
against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
  That is an oath I have taken both as a Member of Congress--now on my 
fourth term--and as a military pilot, something similar to that, 
talking about the importance of the military to protect and defend the 
Constitution. In both of these roles, I have seen firsthand the 
sacrifice that men and women of the military have been willing to make 
to defend their freedoms, to defend the Constitution, defend the 
country.
  This last month was especially tough for our Nation's security and 
for our foreign policy. The 8-year decline of American global 
leadership, under the President, came to a head. A sad trend built by 
the Obama administration continued as the White House worked with our 
enemies and abandoned our friends.
  For one, the recent ceasefire in Syria was reached without United 
States' input, ultimately empowering tyrants in Iran and in Russia. In 
fact, to think about the situation in Syria, I want to remind people 
there are half a million dead Syrians right now, innocent civilians. 
And I have heard people say, completely incorrectly, that it doesn't 
matter; they are all basically terrorists. Untrue. But let's say it is.
  There are 50,000 children in Syria that did not get an opportunity to 
go be a teacher or a police officer or a firefighter or a doctor 
because of tyrants in Iran, because of Bashar al-Assad and because of 
Russia empowering them and using precision-guided munitions to hit 
innocent civilians and take their life away.
  Last week, the U.S. abstained from a vote in the United Nations 
Security Council on the biased resolution targeting our ally Israel.
  Mr. Speaker, rather than turning on freedom-loving nations around the 
world, we must stand with them. Nowhere is this more important than in 
the fight against terrorism.
  Before the holidays, a list went out from ISIS accounts with the 
names of churches in the United States that should be attacked over the 
holidays. Then, an attack in Berlin took the lives of 12 innocent 
civilians and injured more than 50 in a Christmas market. On New Year's 
Eve, there was a savage attack at a nightclub in Istanbul, killing 39 
revelers and injuring dozens.
  Both attacks were claimed by ISIS seeking to strike fear into 
freedom-loving people around the world. While we all must remain 
vigilant, we cannot give in to that fear, and we must continue to live 
our lives.
  What we need right now, Mr. Speaker, is a renewed American moment, 
renewed American leadership after 8 years of decline. We need a 
Churchill moment. I think about Winston Churchill after the bombs 
rained down in London, and instead of hiding and cowering and talking 
about how terrible it is, he goes out on the streets, rallies the 
people, and says that you cannot shatter us. And the people unite 
behind him.
  It is time for America to exhibit the same kind of leadership 
exhibited by George W. Bush in the bullhorn speech after the fall of 
the World Trade Center. He showed Americans unity, strength, resolve, 
and he reminded the world that our foundations will not be shaken even 
if you shake the foundations of our biggest buildings. And you can 
shatter our steel, but you can't shatter the steel of American resolve. 
I haven't heard speeches like that in quite a while from the oval 
office.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been a rough election cycle for our country. It 
has been a tough, very divisive, and difficult time, but now it is time 
to come together. We are going to have our partisan differences and 
battles, and that is fine. That is what we are out here for.
  But, Mr. Speaker, America needs to remember our mission, our God-
given mission. I believe that is to be an example of self-governance to 
billions of people that don't have what we have, but are desperate for 
it.
  We used that kind of leadership in the cold war as millions lived 
behind the Iron Curtain and saw what freedom could be. And there are 
iron curtains that exist today; terrorism, strongmen, a resurgent 
Russia--an iron curtain of soft expectations and low expectations of 
people.
  For the last 8 years, we failed to articulate that mission. Mr. 
Speaker, we are a nation in need of remembering that mission, and it is 
my sincere hope that this will change very soon.

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