[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H665]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GREENLAND
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Thank you. The Chair now recognizes the
gentleman from New York, Mr. Latimer, for 5 minutes.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
On January 13, 2026, page H665, in the first column, the
following appeared:(Mr. LATIMER of New York was recognized to
address the House for 5 minutes.)
The online version has been corrected to read: The SPEAKER pro
tempore. Thank you. The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from
New York, Mr. Latimer, for 5 minutes.
========================= END NOTE =========================
Mr. LATIMER. Mr. Speaker, in the Holy Bible's Book of Exodus, a book
which is sacred to both Christians and Jews, it is written that
Almighty God hands down, through Moses, Ten Commandments that represent
the bedrock of ethical behavior and rules that govern human conduct.
My colleagues in Texas and Louisiana have State laws that post them
inside public facilities. In one form or another, secular laws are
written with these commandments in mind to provide civil sanctions
against those who would commit murder or lie in a court proceeding
under oath. Such laws govern against stealing what others legitimately
own, their property and possessions.
We now face one of the most important tests of our democracy in over
150 years: Whether the Federal Government will blatantly steal the
assets of an independent sovereign nation, who is our ally, for no
legitimate reason other than lust for land.
In the rhetoric of coveting thy neighbor's goods, the President of
the United States is fixed on coveting the sovereign land of the
kingdom of Denmark, the island of Greenland. The President has spoken
about it in his frequent public ruminations, and we have learned he has
tasked our military to plan how he might take Greenland by force
without the consent of Denmark.
This would open a shameful chapter, as we celebrate the 250th year of
our own independence, that we would turn our backs on the principles
established by the Founding Fathers and act as if we are one of the
thug nations of the world ourselves.
Saddam Hussein's Iraq seized Kuwait. Vladimir Putin's Russia launched
war to take over Ukraine. Adolf Hitler grabbed Poland and
Czechoslovakia and, for a while, all of continental Europe. Mussolini
took Ethiopia, and Chairman Xi has long coveted Taiwan. Each presented
their flimsy reasons for their actions, justifications that fooled no
one.
Is this who America wants to emulate? Putin, Hitler, Hussein?
The flimsy reason offered by the President and his minions, notably
Stephen Miller, references our ability to protect America from an
Arctic region threat.
With that very thought in mind, in 1951, we signed an agreement with
Denmark that allows us to place military assets in Greenland that we
feel we need with the support and agreement of Denmark. They have not
reneged on that deal or thrown up roadblocks to American defense needs.
We are trying to burst into a room by force when the door is set wide
open and the welcome mat is displayed.
Denmark, a NATO ally, owns Greenland legally. If it doesn't choose to
sell it, it remains legally theirs. Thy neighbor's ox and house, not
ours.
Any U.S. military action against Greenland breaks the NATO rule and
puts us at odds with our allies, allies that in the post-World War II
era have helped us restrain Russian aggression for nearly a century.
Denmark, as an ally, responded to our action in Afghanistan. They lost
43 men there simply because they honored their NATO commitment and
stood by their friend, the United States of America.
Perhaps this President hates NATO so much that he has rallied against
elements of it before, and in that he supports the wishes of Vladimir
Putin that sees NATO as an impediment to his empire building, the
desire for retaking Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Ukraine.
We have, as of late, decided that it is okay to insult European
leaders at the U.N., threaten the countries of Latin America,
disrespect our closest friend, Canada, and generally act with an
arrogant swagger. We have the world's greatest military, but it is not
a toy to be used to glorify any one man's lust for an expanded control
of land. It is not the Department of War. It is the Department of
Defense. That is how Americans view our role in the world, to defend
ourselves and to defend freedom in a world with dictators and thugs who
would subjugate us all if they could.
God stop us if we become the thug, if we become the dictatorship that
uses our economic and military strength to bully this world.
The power of any President is not about what one man thinks is moral.
It is guided by constitutional limitations, including three branches of
government, not a dominant dictator and a subservient politburo and
judiciary.
Harry Truman understood this. Dwight Eisenhower understood this. John
F. Kennedy understood this, and so did Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon,
Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill
Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. These men,
whether you deem their Presidencies good or bad, understood what it is
to have allies across the globe and how to keep America as the shining
light to guide this planet.
Attacking Greenland for no strategic benefit that they don't already
have puts us in a league with Russia and China. We will regret such a
decision every day that we live thereafter.
Let this Congress make a strong, unambiguous statement that America
does not take land for some trumped up reason.
We stand for the rule of law and for freedom and respect for others.
That is what sets our Nation apart. If we snatch Greenland as a show of
power, we give no reason for the people of the world to side with us
when some other nation confronts us in a future year.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
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