[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 19 (Friday, February 3, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H950]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              MUSLIM BAN IS AGAINST OUR FUNDAMENTAL VALUES

  (Mr. PANETTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak out against President 
Trump's Muslim ban, an executive order that emboldens our enemies, 
undermines our alliances, and offends our American values. This ban 
has, among other things, blocked visas for interpreters from the Middle 
East, people who risk their lives to save American lives.
  When I was deployed to Afghanistan as an intelligence officer, I 
worked with many interpreters; and at first, I realized they not only 
provided accurate information, they kept us safe. As time went along 
and I got to know them, what I came to realize is that they were the 
ones who were unsafe. They were the ones who were risking their lives 
to save our lives.
  When I got to know them, I would ask them: Why are you taking this 
risk? Why are you doing this? And the reason they gave me was similar 
to the one my grandfather gave me, my Italian immigrant grandfather, as 
to why he came here to America back in 1921, and that is they came here 
to give their children a better life.
  Mr. Speaker, to me, that is the definition of the American Dream. 
President Trump's executive order not only makes us unsafe, it is 
against our fundamental values. If people are willing to take risks to 
live the American Dream, we don't stop them; we welcome them. That is 
why my family is here. That is why I am here.

                          ____________________