[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3141]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                 DEPARTMENT OF PEACE BILL INTRODUCTION

  (Ms. LEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, it is time to make a real commitment to the 
peace that we want to see in the world. That is exactly what H.R. 808, 
introduced by Congressman Kucinich, with 52 cosponsors, would do by 
creating the Department of Peace.
  We are now spending $8 billion each month on the occupation of Iraq. 
Imagine if a small portion of that money was invested, instead, in 
conflict resolution, diplomacy, weapons reduction, and human rights. As 
the drum beats of war against Iran are now heard, imagine if the debate 
included not only the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense, but 
a Secretary of Peace. Guaranteed the military option would be taken off 
the table and our world would not be led again into another useless, 
senseless war.
  Imagine if we were to direct a small portion of the $583 billion 
Pentagon budget to promoting nonviolence here at home by investing in 
efforts to stop domestic violence, gun violence, child abuse, gang 
violence, violence in schools, hate crimes, racial violence, religious 
intolerance and the mistreatment of the elderly.
  Dr. King said that peace is not just the absence of tension; it is 
the presence of justice. This isn't something we should just hope for, 
but we must work for it.

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