[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3162]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       DON'T DO IT, MR. PRESIDENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Tierney). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, if the President were to ask me for advice on 
foreign affairs, this is what I would say: Don't do it, Mr. President. 
It is a bad idea. There is no need for it. There is great danger in 
doing it. America is against it, and Congress should be. The United 
Nations is against it. The Russians, the Chinese, the Indians, the 
Pakistanis are against it. The whole world is against it. Our allies 
are against it. Our enemies are against it. The Arabs are against it. 
The Europeans are against it. The Muslims are against it.
  We don't need to do this. The threat is overblown. The plan is a 
hysterical reaction to a problem that does not yet exist. Hysteria is 
never a good basis for foreign policy. Don't we ever learn? Have we 
already forgotten Iraq?
  The plan defies common sense. If it is carried out, the Middle East 
and possibly the world will explode. Oil will soar to over $100 a 
barrel, and gasoline will be over $5 a gallon.
  Despite what some think, it won't serve the interests of Israel. 
Besides, it is illegal. It is unconstitutional. And, Mr. President, you 
have no moral authority to do it.
  We don't need it. We don't want it. So, Mr. President, don't do it. 
Don't bomb Iran.
  The moral of the story, Mr. Speaker, is this: If you don't have a 
nuclear weapon, we will threaten to attack you. If you do have a 
nuclear weapon, we will leave you alone. In fact, we will probably 
subsidize you. What makes us think Iran does not understand this?
  Mr. Speaker, I would like now to yield to my friend from North 
Carolina (Mr. Jones).
  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Paul 
for so many years coming down to the floor to defend the Constitution 
of the United States.
  The United States Constitution, article I, Section 8, clause 11, 
vests in the Congress the exclusive power to declare war. Many of us in 
the past few days have put in a resolution, H.J. Resolution 14, to say 
that the President should not go into and bomb Iran unless he comes to 
the Congress so that the Congress can meet its constitutional 
responsibility.
  James Madison said, ``. . . The power to declare war, including the 
power of judging the causes of war, is fully and exclusively vested in 
the legislature . . . the Executive has no right, in any case, to 
decide the question, whether there is or is not cause for declaring 
war.''
  I want to thank you, Ron Paul, for always being a spokesman and a 
protector of the Constitution.
  Mr. PAUL. I thank you very much for those comments.

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