[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 20]
[House]
[Pages 27484-27490]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    COMMEMORATING VETERANS' DAY 2003

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 7, 2003, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members

[[Page 27485]]

may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the 
subject of my Special Order tonight.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Maryland?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise with fellow Members of the 
Congressional Black Caucus and other Members of Congress to salute this 
Nation's veterans in commemoration of Veterans' Day next Tuesday. Mr. 
Speaker, it is a very special day for so many of our men and women who 
have given their blood, their sweat, and their tears to defend the 
lives that we live in this country. Many of them have given their lives 
standing up for what America is all about.
  And so it gives me great honor to yield 20 minutes to my 
distinguished colleague from the great State of Missouri and the 
ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Ike 
Skelton, for his remarks.
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, let me first thank my friend and colleague 
from Maryland for the honor of addressing the House at this moment. I 
much appreciate it.
  Mr. Speaker, recent press reports have indicated that the 
administration is planning to begin the withdrawal of American forces 
from Iraq in the spring of 2004. Based on recent visits to my 
congressional district in Missouri, I believe such a move would be very 
politically popular. Overwhelmingly, the people want our troops brought 
home as rapidly as possible. I, too, want to bring them home.
  However, if we have learned anything from recent history in Baghdad, 
it is that poor planning for the occupation has contributed to the 
dangerous and confused situation in which we find ourselves. I was 
concerned about planning for the occupation last year. In fact, Mr. 
Speaker, I wrote to the President on two occasions, first on September 
4, 2002, and second, on the eve of the war, on March 18, 2003. My 
letters detailed the potential problems our forces might encounter 
during the postconflict occupation of Iraq, and I submit copies of 
those letters for the Record.

                                      Committee on Armed Services,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                Washington, DC, September 4, 2002.
     The President,
     The White House,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: Thank you for inviting me to the 
     briefing this morning. I share your concern about the 
     continuing threat posed by Saddam Hussein and his efforts to 
     produce weapons of mass destruction (WMD). I would like to 
     offer my assistance as the administration considers how to 
     deal with this threat.
       Before Congress can authorize any military action that 
     might be part of the administration's plan, we must have 
     answers to more questions than were about to be raised at 
     today's meeting. Our constitutional duty requires us to 
     ensure that all implications of such action are considered in 
     advance. The case has not yet been fully made as to what the 
     threat is, why military force is an appropriate way of 
     addressing the threat, and why action must occur now. In 
     short, Congress and the American people must be clear on your 
     strategic vision before we can authorize a specific course of 
     action. I believe, like Clausewitz, that in strategy there is 
     an ``imperative . . . not to take the first step without 
     considering the last.''
       Your strategy for dealing with Iraq must address the 
     fundamental questions of the threat, the method of acting, 
     and the timing. Furthermore, any strategy to eliminate Iraqi 
     WMD must also address several component issues, each of which 
     raises critical questions.

     How To Manage Iraq's Transition to a Stable Post-Saddam Regime

       As I mentioned to you this morning, this is a critical 
     question for administration strategy to answer in advance of 
     any military action. I have no doubt that our military would 
     decisively defeat Iraq's forces and remove Saddam. But like 
     the proverbial dog chasing the car down the road, we must 
     consider what we would do after we caught it.
       As Sun-Tzu said in the classic strategic treatise, The Art 
     of War, ``To win victory is easy; to preserve its fruits, 
     difficult,'' Military planners and political leaders alike 
     knew this in World War II. Planning for the occupation of 
     Germany and Japan--two economically viable, technologically 
     sophisticated nations--took place well in advance of the end 
     of the war. The extreme difficulty of occupying Iraq with its 
     history of autocratic rule, its balkanized ethnic tensions, 
     and its isolated economic system argues both for careful 
     consideration of the benefits and risks of undertaking 
     military action and for detailed advanced occupation planning 
     if such military action is approved.
       Specifically, your strategy must consider the form of a 
     replacement regime and take seriously the possibility that 
     this regime might be rejected by the Iraqi people, leading to 
     civil unrest and even anarchy. The effort must be to craft a 
     stable regime that will be geopolitically preferable to 
     Saddam and will incorporate the disparate interests of all 
     groups within Iraq--Shi'a, Sunni, and Kurd. We must also plan 
     now for what to do with members of the Baath party that 
     continue to support Saddam and with the scientists and 
     engineers who have expertise born of the Iraqi WMD program.
       All these efforts require careful planning and long-term 
     commitment of manpower and resources. The American people 
     must be clear about the amount of money and the number of 
     soldiers that will have to be devoted to this effort for many 
     years to come.

   How to Ensure the Action in Iraq Does Not undermine International 
                Support for the Broader War on Terrorism

       In planning for military operations in Iraq, we cannot 
     ignore the lack of international support to date. Pre-emptive 
     action against Iraq is currently vocally opposed by many of 
     our allies and friends throughout the world and particularly 
     in the Middle East.
       When we are seen as acting against the concerns of large 
     numbers of our friends, it calls into question the ``humble'' 
     approach to international relations you espoused during the 
     presidential campaign. More than that, it has several 
     potentially damaging long-term consequences. First, it risks 
     losing the large number of partners needed to prosecute the 
     global war on terrorism. To ferret terrorist groups out of 
     their many hiding places, we must have broad allied support. 
     Second, it risks seriously damaging U.S. moral legitimacy, 
     potentially providing states like India and Pakistan with a 
     preemptive option that could drive long-standing conflicts 
     beyond containable bounds.
       Finally and perhaps most dangerously, actions without broad 
     Arab support may inflame the sources of terrorism, causing 
     unrest and anger throughout the Muslim world. This dynamic 
     will be worse if Iraq attacks Israel--perhaps with weapons of 
     mass destruction--and draws them into the conflict. Iran, 
     which has the potential to seize a reformist path, may well 
     move away from the United States in the face of attacks that 
     could next be taken against them. Together, these dynamics 
     will make achieving peace in the Middle East more difficult 
     and may well provide the rationale for more terrorist attacks 
     against Americans.
       These concerns do not make military action in Iraq 
     untenable. They do, however, highlight the depth and 
     importance of the issues to be addressed before we strike. We 
     need to ensure that in taking out Saddam, we don't win the 
     battle and lose the war.

    How to Ensure That the United States Can Execute This Operation 
          Successfully as Well as its Other Military Missions

       As you are well aware, Mr. President, the consideration of 
     military action against Iraq comes at a time when U.S. forces 
     are actively engaged throughout the world in a range of 
     missions. Given the operational pressures these forces 
     currently face, we must ask what the risks and trade-offs 
     will be of defeating Iraq, particularly if Iraqi forces mass 
     in Baghdad for urban operations. How many casualties must the 
     American people be prepared to take in a worst-case scenario? 
     What will the impact of sustained operations be on so-called 
     high-demand, low-density assets? What military operations 
     might we have to forego because of continued demands in Iraq? 
     Will we still be prepared for the range of other threats that 
     might emerge throughout the world? With little allied support 
     and contributions, will we still be able to maintain military 
     spending on transformational technologies and on sound 
     quality of life for our forces if we are bearing a huge 
     wartime cost alone? What will be the impact on the domestic 
     economy of these resource drains and of the long-term costs 
     of reconstructing Iraq? These questions must be answered 
     before any military action commences so that the American 
     people understand the risks and the sacrifices involved.
       I ask these questions only to highlight the complexity of 
     the undertaking and the need for Congress, the American 
     people, and our friends around the world to understand 
     exactly what is at stake and why we must act now. Only such a 
     comprehensive strategic approach will ensure that we commit 
     U.S. troops consciously and with full knowledge of the range 
     of challenges we face--both in the initial campaign and in 
     the long aftermath to follow. Even a strategy that has 
     military action as its centerpiece will require great 
     diplomatic efforts to ensure its success. I look forward to 
     hearing the administration's answers and to working with you 
     to find the best course of action.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Ike Skelton,
                                                 Ranking Democrat.

[[Page 27486]]

     
                                  ____
                                      Committee on Armed Services,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                   Washington, DC, March 18, 2003.
     The President,
     The White House,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: This is a critical week for our nation 
     and for the world. As you prepare to make the most difficult 
     decision of sending our troops into combat, the thoughts and 
     prayers of all Americans are with you. My colleagues here in 
     Congress have many different views on the wisdom of action in 
     Iraq and the severity of its consequences. But we are united 
     in our support for all the men and women who serve this 
     nation.
       There is no doubt that our forces will be victorious in any 
     conflict, but there is great potential for a ragged ending to 
     a war as we deal with the aftermath. I appreciate the efforts 
     that members of your administration have made to keep me 
     informed about plans for the administration and 
     reconstruction of Iraq following military conflict. Your team 
     has thought about many of the things that will need to be 
     done.
       Secretary Rumsfeld frequently talks about the list he keeps 
     of things that could go wrong in an Iraq war. I have kept my 
     own list--of things that could go wrong after the war is 
     over. The list below is indicative of this broader list. My 
     hope is that this will be helpful to members of your 
     administration as you continue to plan for all possibilities. 
     These are not complete scenarios but rather a series of 
     possible problems that could occur in some combination.


           Internal Divisions and External Influences in Iraq

       Without access to Iraq through Turkey, U.S. troops are not 
     present in northern Iraq in large numbers. Turkey enters 
     northern Iraq to establish a buffer zone and fighting breaks 
     out between the Turks and Kurds. A significant U.S. military 
     force is needed to separate the groups, complicating the 
     governmental transition and international support.
       An uprising in Kirkuk leaves the Kurds in control of areas 
     of the city and surrounding area. This triggers a large 
     Turkish invasion to protect the Turkmen minority and to 
     prevent Kurdish control of oil resources. Again this would 
     require U.S. military resources with all the attending 
     effects.
       In the event that Turkey crosses into Iraq, Iran may do the 
     same, ostensibly to stem the refugee flows from southern Iraq 
     and to protect Shi'a interests.
       Shi'a populations in the south rebel and undertake attacks 
     against Sunnis. U.S. troops must step in to protect the 
     Sunnis and restore peace. These tensions resurface during 
     attempts to build a federal and representative government.
       Urban fighting in the south brings Shi'a into conflict with 
     Sunnis. The resulting devastation causes a refugee crisis as 
     Shi'a make for the Iranian border. The results of Saddam's 
     policy of forced Arabization of areas like Kirkuk yield 
     dangerous consequences. Groups like the Kurds flow back into 
     these areas seeking to reclaim their former homes and land, 
     sparking conflict with Iraqi Arabs.
       Attempts to fashion a federal government in Baghdad prove 
     difficult. Iran is able to establish proxies for its 
     influence among the Shi'a representatives. Once in Iraq, 
     infighting breaks out among members of the former Iraqi 
     opposition in exile. The United States is unable to 
     transition the administration of Iraq effectively and has to 
     remain in place, with significant military backing.
       The war involves lengthy urban combat, particularly in 
     Baghdad. Most infrastructure is destroyed resulting in 
     massive humanitarian problems. The emphasis on humanitarian 
     aid distracts from efforts to establish a new government. 
     Once established the government faces massive political 
     pressure from the sustained humanitarian crisis.


                      weapons of mass destruction

       Saddam uses biological and chemical weapons against 
     advancing U.S. troops, but also inflicts substantial civilian 
     casualties. Efforts to stabilize cities and to establish a 
     government are complicated by the need to deal with the large 
     number of dead and to decontaminate affected areas.
       Saddam uses biological and chemical weapons directly 
     against civilian populations or against another Arab country 
     and seeks to affix blame for civilian suffering to the United 
     States. Over the period of occupation, this resentment 
     complicates U.S. efforts to maintain support for 
     reconstruction efforts.
       U.S. troops are unable to quickly find all of Saddam's 
     capabilities, requiring a long, labor-intensive search and 
     anxiety as to when the task is complete.
       Regional leaders, for money or to gain influence, retain 
     caches of WMD and transfer some to terrorist groups.
       Saddam attacks Israel with missiles containing weapons of 
     mass destruction. Israel retaliates. Arab countries, notably 
     Saudi Arabia and Jordan, come under intense political 
     pressure to withdraw their support from the U.S. war effort. 
     U.S. forces are forced to reposition operational centers into 
     Iraq and Kuwait, complicating reconstruction and transition 
     efforts.


                             oil resources

       Saddam sabotages a significant number of wells before his 
     defeat. Current estimates indicate he may already have wired 
     up to 1,500 of these wells. The damage takes years to contain 
     at great economic and environmental cost and removes a major 
     source of reconstruction funding.
       Internal groups, such as the Kurds, seize oil-rich land 
     before American troops reach the area, causing internal 
     clashes over these resources. Militant Shi'as seize other 
     wells in the South.


                         international support

       The United States takes immediate control of Iraq's 
     administration and of reconstruction. The United Nations 
     can't agree on how involved to get given the divisions among 
     the Security Council about the need for conflict. The lack of 
     UN involvement in the administration makes the European Union 
     and others less likely to give. This situation delays 
     reconstruction and puts more of the cost on the United States 
     and a smaller number of partners.
       U.S. reconstruction efforts that give U.S. corporations a 
     great role at the expense of multilateral organizations and 
     other participation--as was detailed in yesterday's Wall 
     Street Journal--spur resentment and again limit the 
     willingness of others to participate.


                          american commitment

       Stabilization and reconstruction prove more difficult than 
     expected. U.S. troop requirements approach 200,000--the 
     figure General Shinseki has mentioned--for a sustained 
     period. This puts pressure on troop rotations, reservists, 
     their families, and employers and requires a dramatic 
     increase in end-strength.
       Required funding reaches the figure suggested by a recent 
     Council on Foreign Relations assessment--$20 billion annually 
     for several years. During a period of economic difficulty, 
     the American public calls for greater burdensharing.
       It is my hope that none of these eventualities comes to 
     pass. But as you and all military leaders know, good planning 
     requires considering the range of possibilities. It also 
     requires advance preparation of the American people. You have 
     regularly outlined the reasons for why the United States must 
     disarm Iraq. I urge you to do the same in explaining why we 
     must stay with Iraq for the long haul, even with the economic 
     and military burdens this will entail.
       As always, I am willing to help in any way I can to make 
     this case to my colleagues and the American people.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Ike Skelton,
                                                 Ranking Democrat.

  Mr. Speaker, I regret that my advice went unheeded. I believe that 
the poor planning for the occupation of Iraq approaches dereliction of 
duty. The looting and political chaos that resulted in the wake of the 
war was not adequately anticipated. The terrible shape of the utilities 
and of the Iraqi oil industry was misjudged. Our allies were not 
brought along adequately. Because of the rolling start of the war, not 
enough forces were on the ground. All in all, a painful lesson was 
learned, a lesson that many young military officers learn early in 
their careers: proper planning prevents poor performance.
  It is imperative that any plans to withdraw our forces from Baghdad 
be properly planned. We must have a clear strategic goal, and specific 
steps must be identified that we must follow in order to achieve that 
goal. Moreover, those steps must be objective and must be measurable. 
An early exit means retreat or defeat.
  For the administration to pull our forces out early for the wrong 
reasons, let us say for the sake of the upcoming Presidential 
elections, before we have achieved our objectives is irresponsible in 
the extreme. It risks creating a political vacuum with its resulting 
chaos. And into that vacuum, I assure you forces of terrorism and 
radical Islam will step. Our objective in going into Iraq was not only 
to eliminate weapons of mass destruction and to combat terrorism but 
also to plant the seeds for democracy and real change in the region. 
Mr. Speaker, that is a worthy goal; but if we pull out early before 
Iraq is well launched toward democracy, we will have sown the seeds of 
chaos and defeat far worse than we can imagine. No one can predict the 
consequences of that chaos, except those consequences will not be good.
  We have not seen the President's plans that will enable the military 
to begin to withdraw its forces. All we have seen are leaks about the 
Pentagon's plans to begin the withdrawal. We have, however, seen a 
series of statements by Ambassador Bremer with respect to the seven 
steps necessary for the return of ``sovereignty'' to the Iraqi people. 
Those are good steps, but in my opinion they do not go

[[Page 27487]]

nearly far enough. First, they are directed only to the handoff of full 
governmental responsibility to the Iraqi people. Second, they do not 
address the conditions to make a successful handoff necessary. And 
third, they do not address a much wider range of deeper, long-term 
problems.
  Here are the six steps that I believe the President should adopt as 
necessary measures to be achieved before our forces are withdrawn:
  One, there must be a secure environment. Basic public services must 
be reestablished. For example, there must be adequate Iraqi police and 
courts to deal with public safety concerns and criminal acts. Another 
key element is that there should be no appreciable presence of al Qaeda 
in Iraq. Saddam Hussein, remember him?, must be captured or we must 
know he is dead. If he is captured, we must be confident that the 
Iraqis have an adequate judicial system to deal with him and that he is 
no longer a threat to us or to the Iraqi people.
  The Iraqi army must be reconstituted, at least insofar as necessary 
to provide for basic security needs and to secure Iraq's borders. Iraq 
must make certain that neither terrorists nor weapons of mass 
destruction come across its borders.
  All weapons of mass destruction must be accounted for and the basic 
production facilities for weapons of mass destruction must be 
destroyed. In addition, the vast arsenal of conventional munitions, 
mortar and artillery rounds, small arms, rockets and missiles must be 
accounted for and either destroyed or secured.
  Two, basic services. Much progress has been made in getting the 
lights and electricity back on, but much more remains to be done. 
Water, roads, sewers, bridges, indeed, the whole transportation 
network, needs to be repaired or well on its way to being repaired. The 
education system must be modernized, the universities reinvigorated. 
This does not need to be accomplished prior to our withdrawal, but we 
and the Iraqi people must be confident that progress is being made 
because in the absence of progress, there can be no confidence that 
democracy will take root and will succeed.
  Three, the establishment of a new constitution. I agree with the 
procedures laid out by Ambassador Bremer. We must move as rapidly as 
possible to sponsor the drafting of a constitution that reflects the 
genuine aspirations of the Iraqi people. In that regard, I note that 
Ambassador Bremer did not call for the Bill of Rights for the Iraqi 
people. He did not call for essential internationally recognized human 
rights to be adopted as part of the constitution. Mr. Speaker, I 
believe nothing is more important than the adoption of these basic 
human rights, including respect for the individual, due process in 
courts, full political and economic rights for women, and freedom of 
the press.
  Four, the basic elements of a government must be in place. The Iraqi 
Governing Council is a start, but the members of that body have been 
selected by us. We need to move rapidly to put in place a government 
that is respected by the people. I worry greatly that if we do not 
rapidly begin to give the Iraqis greater authority over their day-to-
day affairs, hard-liner Islamic fundamentalists like Sadr with private 
militias of their own will try to take power. These militia are willing 
to use violence to pursue their political objectives to establish an 
Islamic state. We cannot let chaos reign and these Islamic 
fundamentalists take power.
  In that regard, it is imperative that the new government be one that 
respects democratic institutions. For example, the army, police and 
security services must be ones that are accountable to their democratic 
leaders. Any former members of the Baath Party who take positions of 
responsibility must be properly vetted and be individuals in whom we 
and the Iraqis have confidence that they will respect democratic 
institutions.
  Five, the economy. It is also imperative that major steps be made 
toward getting the economy going again. We did not adequately 
anticipate the terrible shape of the Iraqi oil industry, and oil 
revenues have been a disappointment. Progress is being made, but more 
needs to be made before we can be confident that the Iraqis can take 
over. Other areas of the economy are also in shambles, and much work 
must be done. Entrepreneurs in Iraq, in this country, and among Iraq's 
neighbors and our allies must be given the opportunity to move in as 
rapidly as possible and get the economy going again. An essential 
element of that, of course, is a secure environment and a functioning 
judicial system that is regarded as sufficiently open and fair as to 
encourage and support foreign investment.
  Six, international support. We must ensure that there is wide support 
in the United Nations, among our allies, and with Iraq's neighbors for 
the rebuilding measures we have taken. They must be willing to commit 
forces where necessary and resources when available to help rebuild 
Iraq's infrastructure, support its government, and grow its economy. 
They must be committed to supporting democratic institutions as they 
emerge.
  Mr. Speaker, if the President does not adopt a strategy of 
incorporating these six points, I believe a premature withdrawal of 
American forces would lead to a disaster. I want all the forces to come 
home as rapidly as possible, but I also want the mission to succeed.
  Americans are fond of saying, ``These colors don't run.'' Well, Mr. 
Speaker, I do not want to run before we have done our job. The 
sacrifices of all of our brave men and women who have died or have been 
wounded must not be in vain. The losses and sacrifices made by the 
Iraqi people must not be in vain. The stakes are just too great. We 
must accomplish our mission, and the President must lay out a strategy 
to achieve those objectives before he begins the withdrawal of American 
forces. To do otherwise is to sacrifice national security for political 
survival.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment to thank the 
gentleman from Missouri for his service and the position that he holds. 
We in the Congress, of course, look up to him as our ranking member of 
the House Armed Services Committee for his advice on our veterans and 
on military matters, and I appreciate his service.
  Mr. Speaker, given that our country is currently engaged in a war in 
both Iraq and Afghanistan, the members of the Congressional Black 
Caucus feel compelled to pay homage to our soldiers at home and abroad.

                              {time}  2045

  Our brave men and women continue to risk their lives in order that 
others may enjoy freedom. In fact, we have come to the House floor on 
numerous occasions to express our appreciation for the dedication, 
courage, and sacrifice of our Armed Forces. Tonight Mr. Speaker, the 
Congressional Black Caucus again stands before this House to honor 
those currently serving in the over 100 nations around the globe where 
the United States military has operations, and we especially pause to 
remember those who laid the foundation for our freedom.
  Mr. Speaker, the United States military is among the most diverse 
institutions in our country; and it is this diversity in gender, 
ethnicity, skill, and talent that contributes most to our military's 
awesome strength. Throughout history, heroic citizens of our great 
Nation have transcended individual prejudice and intolerance to unite 
in the pursuit of liberty and in their valiant protection of our 
borders.
  However, many of these same individuals have too often been 
unrecognized and forgotten once the final shot has been fired and the 
last drop of blood has been shed. So as my favorite theologian Charles 
Swindoll, who has penned these words that are imbedded in the DNA of 
every cell of my brain, Swindoll says ``The greatest deeds often 
performed are those that are performed by those who are unknown, 
unseen, unappreciated, and unapplauded.'' And we want to make sure that 
our veterans do not fall into any of those categories.
  And it was the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), my good friend, 
the ranking Democrat on our House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, who

[[Page 27488]]

penned these words, and they are just so brilliant, I just wanted to 
repeat the gentleman from Illinois' (Mr. Evans) words. He said, ``50 
million have held the venerable title of veteran. More than 1 million 
have died while wearing the uniform. It is this generation's 
responsibility, and that of every subsequent generation, to make sure 
the numbers have faces, lives that connect to them. We are losing 1,500 
veterans a day. Each death represents a life, another rich, colorful, 
dynamic, dramatic, brutal, or heartening story. The gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Evans) goes on to say: ``The only way this and future 
generations can hold dear to what our veterans have done, can 
understand the sacrifice, is to record and share their stories and to 
continue the traditions of honoring their service such as those 
observed on November 11. We must not lose their deeds to time or 
neglect. The greatest gift in return for what these extraordinary 
individuals have given us is to make certain their lives and 
experiences are perpetuated, to recount their sacrifices to every 
generation.'' Finally, he goes on to say: ``War may begin over real 
estate, mineral rights, religion, or boundaries, but ultimately it is 
about people and lives. It is about one man or woman seeking to make 
certain that the next one can live freely and have a say in his or her 
own destiny. It is about sacrifices to ensure our Nation and world in 
which the rights of the individual are acknowledged, respected, and 
cherished.''
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the wonderful gentlewoman from the great 
State of California (Ms. Lee), the daughter of a veteran.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, first let me thank the gentleman from Maryland, 
our chairman, for once again organizing this very important special 
order tonight recognizing the service of Americans veterans. Once 
again, let me just commend the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) 
for his leadership and for ensuring that our country understands and 
recognizes that the Congressional Black Caucus stands tall here in this 
Congress on each and every issue with which our country is faced.
  Yes, I am a very proud daughter of a veteran, and I represent a State 
which boasts the highest veteran population, ensuring that veterans 
receive their benefits of course, and recognition for their 
contributions is, therefore, a major priority for me. We owe every 
veteran around this country an enormous debt of gratitude. And we here 
in Congress really do have the opportunity and the obligation to honor 
that debt by providing veterans with the benefits that they were 
guaranteed, including adequate benefits for veterans, surviving spouses 
and families, burial rights, health care, disabled tax credits, and 
home loan assistance. This issue, as my colleagues know, is not a 
partisan issue but a fundamental issue of fairness.
  In July, during consideration of the fiscal year 2004 VA-HUD 
appropriations bill, my colleagues on both sides of the aisle were 
really, quite frankly, embarrassed by the Republicans' leadership 
attempt to shortchange to the tune of $1.4 billion those who sacrificed 
the most for our Nation. So yesterday this body unanimously voted to 
increase a host of veterans' benefits. But it has yet to deal with the 
most pressing veterans' issues like concurrent receipt legislation 
which would extend full retirement and health care benefits and end the 
practice of unjustly subtracting disability payments from veterans' 
pensions, creating, in effect, a special disabled veterans' tax. So 
that is why we have filed a discharge petition to bring H.R. 2569, the 
Salute to Veterans and the Armed Forces Act of 2003, to the floor. And 
tonight I call upon my Republican colleagues to join us in eliminating 
this unfair and very outrageous tax on our Nation's veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, on November 11 we will remember our veterans, as we 
should really do each and every day. Injustice in housing must end. It 
is shameful that veterans are twice as likely to become homeless as 
nonveterans, and female veterans are about four times as likely to 
become homeless as their counterparts. It is also shameful that despite 
the fact that 76 percent of these veterans are on the street in large 
part due to alcohol, drug, or mental health problems, or a combination, 
quite frankly, of all three, that we here in Congress fail to provide 
the necessary resources to help them get back on their feet.
  Looking back on the plight of so many of our Nation's homeless 
veterans, I cannot help but think and remember that so many are the 
victims of the 1980's and ``Reaganomics'' and today's struggling 
economy, and I am outraged that we are allowing their numbers to grow.
  Finally, when we talk about the veterans and the failures of this 
country to fulfill its promises to them, we must also discuss and 
recognize the racial disparities and discriminations that affect every 
aspect of American society including, yes, veterans. People of color 
have served this country in numbers far out of proportion to their 
percentages within population.
  How is this the case? The harsh truth is that economic forces 
oftentimes compel minorities to assume the risks of service, yet 
historically they have not received its rewards in equal measure. The 
truth is African American veterans were denied employment 
opportunities, education, housing, and, of course, jobs returning to 
America after fighting for America. I remember this very well. They are 
truly heroes. They are real patriots.
  The creation of the Bureau of Colored Troops during the Civil War, 
the famous Buffalo Soldiers of the Indian Campaigns, the 92nd Division 
and the 761st Tank Battalion and African American women, who served in 
the Women's Army Corps and the Waves during World War II, and the 24th 
Regiment of the Korean War are only a few examples of the famous and 
forgotten African Americans who defended this Nation.
  In many ways our military has become the most integrated institution 
in this country. Despite its advancements, however, in the treatment of 
blacks and minorities in the military, there remains issues that really 
do need to be addressed, legacies of biased drafting procedures, 
advancement, honors, distribution of benefits, and really back to it, 
the treatment upon coming back home after returning from active duty.
  We must honor the legacy of all veterans as members of the 
Congressional Black Caucus tonight are doing. We choose to highlight 
the service of African American and other minority veterans. We respect 
their service and their role really as leaders. And I would like to 
just thank all of those who have contributed to American history for 
their service and for their sacrifice. This Congress must step up to 
the plate and put our money where our mouth is in a very real way, and 
that is to support our veterans.
  In a note from the Veterans for Peace organization, I was reminded 
that Veterans Day was once called Armistice Day, the anniversary of the 
end of World War I, of course, the ``War to end all Wars.'' Tragically, 
that war has been followed by many others. Let us honor our veterans by 
working each and every day for freedom, for peace, and for justice.
  Once again, I want to thank the chairman of the Congressional Black 
Caucus for his unbelievable leadership, focus, and for his commitment 
to honor in a real way our veterans.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for her 
comments, and I just want to talk to her for just a moment.
  She said something that really touched me, and I think that many 
people who have moved throughout our neighborhoods know this, but there 
are so many veterans who are homeless, and it is so painful. When I go 
to our drug treatment centers, it is not unusual for me to just sit 
down and talk to the people there and just find out a little bit about 
their history. And I notice that it is interesting that when people who 
are a little bit older, I would say maybe one out of every six or seven 
that I talk to is a veteran, and a lot of them are, of course, 
complaining about various things, but the fact is a lot of them link a 
lot of their problems to their service.

[[Page 27489]]

  When a person serves, when they volunteer and they go in or they are 
drafted or whatever the case may have been, they go in to serve their 
country. But I also think our country, and I think this is what the 
gentlewoman was talking about too, has a duty to take care of them when 
they get back, because after all, I mean it is very nice for us to 
stand here and say all those wonderful things about our soldiers with 
the ongoing conflict we have certainly in Iraq, but the fact is there 
is that duty, and just as we lift them up and applaud them as they go 
off to war and just as we pray for them and we hold them in high esteem 
when they go off to fight our battles and defend our freedom, when they 
come back, they should come back to a situation that makes them whole. 
Just this evening, as a matter of fact, on one of the national news 
shows, there was a just a very painful story of a young man who just 
came back from Iraq, and I know he is not a veteran yet, but when he 
got back, his bills had amounted up to so much between him and his 
family. He was a National Guardsman, and they had some kind of a 
furniture repair business or something of that nature, but in the 
course of his being gone for the period he was gone, his income from 
the business went down 80 percent, and now he finds himself in a 
position where his wife and he have decided for whatever reasons to go 
their separate ways.

                              {time}  2100

  But the thing that really touched me was he had apparently an 
opportunity to now get out of the military, but he said he wanted to 
stay. He said that he was an Honor Guard, one of the men who go to the 
funerals and fold up the flag and deliver it to the family. He said 
that he wanted to stay because he felt that that was so important.
  When I heard that, I said to myself, we really ought to make sure 
that we do right by our veterans. It is not enough for us to come and 
applaud them. It is not enough for us to come and thank them. We have 
really got to support them.
  Ms. LEE. The gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) is absolutely 
correct. I agonize every time I walk down the streets in my community 
and see veterans who are homeless, and then find that hospitals are 
closing and that they cannot get their medication and they do not have 
anyplace to sleep.
  I think it is a shame and disgrace that we have allowed that to 
happen to our veterans, because here they are, proudly serving our 
country. We should roll out the red carpet upon their return, and we 
should have every program, every provision for them returning to either 
civilian life or life here in the military. That should be made easy, 
that transition.
  Instead, what do we have? We have cuts in their funding, we have lack 
of medical care for them, and we have many of our veterans coming back 
from different parts of the world with unknown diseases, and we cannot 
get them in for treatment or diagnosis or for any kind of medical care. 
It is mind-boggling to me.
  I will tell the gentleman, I think we need to really look at what we 
mean when we say we support our troops, because, in supporting our 
troops, for me, that means, yes, protecting them and keeping them from 
harm's way, but also upon their return making sure that their families 
and their lives are not only made whole, but that they receive the type 
of incentives and the type of real action, affirmative action, that we 
should provide for them, because they have done such a job for this 
country.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. When the gentlewoman talks about disabilities, I want 
her to go back a moment and talk about concurrent receipt. It seems to 
be just an unfair situation, when you are injured and you go leave the 
military on a disability and then your disability payments are then 
deducted from the funds that you are supposed to be getting. Can the 
gentlewoman explain that to us?
  Ms. LEE. That, in essence, is taxing disabled veterans for 
disabilities that they unfortunately acquired while serving this 
country.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Basically what is happening is they are taking away 
money.
  Ms. LEE. They are taking away money from them after they have been 
hurt. That is mean. That is mean, and I think it immoral. Somehow, the 
entire country needs to wake up to that and say how unjust this is and 
correct this. That is why H.R. 2569 has got to come to the floor.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. I agree. I get letters all the time from our veterans 
on that issue of concurrent receipt. As a matter of fact, I just got 
something today where a gentleman from Oklahoma was just very upset. He 
said, ``I wish you all would address that, because it is just so unfair 
to me.'' He is extremely angry.
  Ms. LEE. He should be. What we are doing is making veterans pay for 
their disabilities, which are no fault of their own. It should be just 
the reverse. We should pay them a stipend, an additional benefit, for 
what they have done.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. I want to thank the gentlewoman for her support. I 
really appreciate it.
  Mr. Speaker, as I conclude, I just want to go on and say that 
although the U.S. military has traditionally been, as my colleague has 
said, a diverse institution, it has not always been an integrated 
institution. From Crispus Attucks, who suffered the first shot during 
the Revolutionary War, to the Tuskegee Airmen, who never lost a single 
bomber under their escort during World War II, African Americans have 
answered the call to service whenever our country was in need. Yet 
these same soldiers have not always been treated fairly by their 
country.
  Even today, our veterans, all of our veterans, are not treated, as 
the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) has said, with dignity and 
the honor that they deserve. How else can we explain the things that 
the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) just talked about, cutting 
the veterans budget in this year's budget resolution? How else can we 
explain proposing to close veterans hospitals around the country when 
they are in dire need of care? We must change this course and honor our 
veterans in word and in deed.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I stand on the floor of the House tonight feeling a 
sense of pride; pride for the ultimate sacrifice that our men and women 
have made throughout our history, so that I and my colleagues might 
stand on this floor tonight.
  I want to just yield back to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Lee) with regard to some issues that she wants to discuss.
  Ms. LEE. Just very briefly. As the gentleman was talking, I am 
reminded of my childhood now. I can remember very vividly men in 
uniform, black men in uniform, being denied entrance to a restaurant or 
to a movie theater, or being forced to go to a water fountain that said 
``Colored Only,'' in uniform. I can remember this.
  I have so many unfortunate memories of proud African American men in 
their uniforms being turned away, being discriminated against for one 
reason, and that is because they were black. I think that they are true 
heroes, they are true patriots; and I hope that history will record 
their service to this great country. But also I think we need to make 
sure that history is accurate in its writing and in its history and not 
cloud over the fact that men in uniform did not have equal access to 
basic kinds of services, such as a water fountain.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. It is very interesting, in my district we just had an 
opportunity for some African American students to talk to the 
superintendent of schools. This is one of the best school systems in 
the country, Howard County, outside of Baltimore. The African American 
students were talking to the school board, talking about the difference 
in the disparity between their achievement and those of white children.
  One of the things that they said that just was so profound is they 
said it is so important that we know our history. I chimed in and said, 
``It is not just important that you know it. That is not enough. It is 
very important that all of your classmates know it too, because then I 
think the world can appreciate all that has been contributed, not only

[[Page 27490]]

by African Americans, but by this whole melting pot in making this 
country what it is.''
  I cannot forget as you were talking, Jessie Jackson, Sr., talking 
about when he came back from war. He had to sit in the back of the 
train, and a lot of the white German prisoners were allowed to sit in 
the front of the train.
  The reason I understand why you raised these issues is we want to 
make sure on the one hand that we honor our veterans, but we realize 
that honoring our veterans is giving the total story, or, as somebody 
used to say in one of the movies, ``giving the rest of the picture.''
  Ms. LEE. The gentleman is right. History must be recorded accurately. 
I think only by telling the truth, by putting forth the true history of 
any group of people, but especially our veterans, whom we are 
discussing tonight, that has got to be a priority for our young people, 
because how will they know what to do in the future? How will they know 
how to live? What kind of values will they embrace, if they do not know 
of the struggles and of the challenges and of the fights that many 
people in this country have waged?
  So history must be recorded, and it must be recorded accurately.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. As we conclude, I think when one looks at the stories 
that the gentlewoman told about when she was a little girl and would 
see what the veterans would return to, and the water fountain that said 
``Whites Only,'' the fact is that so many of these soldiers, think 
about the Buffalo Soldiers and many others. Although they knew that 
this country was not necessarily treating them fairly, they still stood 
up. As a matter of fact, many of them were beating down the doors 
trying to stand up for this country.
  Not only do we pause here tonight to thank the living veterans, but 
we thank those and their spirits who may have gone on who were fighting 
for a country that they knew was not necessarily treating them right, 
but they were always fighting for their future. They were fighting for 
generations yet unborn.
  Let me say that when one thinks about somebody putting their life on 
the line and knowing that they would return to a situation in this 
country where they were not treated fairly, but puts their life on the 
line today so that, not only their offspring, but even the offspring of 
those that might not have treated them right could have freedom and 
could have opportunity and could have convenience, that is a powerful 
statement. It really is.
  So we come here not only to honor the veterans who can hear us 
tonight, but we come here also to honor those who have gone on and who 
dreamed a dream that the world would be better that they were fighting 
for.
  Ms. LEE. There are many veterans who are still with us who are 
getting older now who I have the privilege to know and work with, and 
those are the Tuskegee Airmen. What a wonderful legacy they have left.
  I will never forget when I was working for our great statesman, 
Congressman Ron Dellums. I was on his staff and we worked very hard to 
get a display in the museum, I believe it was in the NASA museum, of 
the Tuskegee Airmen. That was a real fight, but we got it there. 
Millions of people were able to read about, see and honor the Tuskegee 
Airmen because of Ron Dellums and because of the work we did to make 
sure that they received a prominent place in the museum here.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. So many people here hear the Congressional Black Caucus 
stand up over and over again and talk about the war and talk about our 
objections to the war; but one thing they always hear from us over and 
over again is that we support our troops, that we support our men and 
women who are out there fighting. But we have come here tonight to say 
not only do we support our troops, but we also support our veterans 
with everything we have got. I used to say we support them 100 percent. 
I change that to 1 million percent.
  Ms. LEE. That is right. My final comment is, as I said earlier, I 
think we need to put our money where our mouth is now and try to fight 
like we know how to fight to make sure that each and every nickel that 
they deserve they receive.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. So, Mr. Speaker, again as I have said before, there are 
so many deeds that go unnoticed, and the ones who perform them are 
often unseen, unnoticed, unappreciated, and unapplauded. Tonight we in 
the Congressional Black Caucus take a moment to salute those who have 
given so much so that we might live the lives that we live.

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