[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3515]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     WE CAN'T HAVE GUNS AND BUTTER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, last night I attended the 10th anniversary 
celebration of Safe House in San Francisco. Safe House is a unique 
service. It provides services and support to homeless women and to 
women who are leaving prostitution. Safe House empowers these women to 
turn their lives around, and, Mr. Speaker, they do.
  The Reverend Glenda Hope, one of the founders of Safe House, also 
helped establish San Francisco Network Ministries which helps the 
poorest of the poor on the streets of San Francisco. She has been a 
beacon of hope for decades, helping many people who have been forgotten 
and discarded by society so that they could find their way back.
  I have been proud to call Glenda Hope my close friend, my 
inspiration, and my hero for over 40 years. Her commitment to human 
dignity and to social justice is an example for all of us.
  Reverend Hope has also been a tireless champion of peace. She refused 
to remain silent about the previous administration's disastrous 
policies in Iraq and demanded that Congress cut off funding for the 
occupation. To Glenda, Iraq isn't something you see on television 
because Glenda sees the tragic results of the fighting with her own 
eyes on the streets of San Francisco. She sees veterans suffering from 
post-traumatic stress syndrome, homelessness, and mental illness caused 
by combat. When the so-called ``surge'' began in 2007, Glenda warned 
that there will be a ``surge of additional vets onto our streets with 
similar afflictions, and the longer we stay in Iraq the more there will 
be.''
  Mr. Speaker, we now know that over 300,000 veterans of the Iraq War 
are suffering from PTSD. Many veterans across the country are homeless, 
jobless, and suffering from depression and other mental problems. Many 
are dealing with family problems caused by their long and frequent 
deployments away from home. In addition, Mr. Speaker, many others have 
been caught up in the foreclosure crisis, and just the other day, we 
received the tragic news that the suicide rate among soldiers in 2008 
was the highest in nearly 30 years.
  The human cost of war is the greatest cost of all, and our country 
has a moral obligation to provide the very best care to our veterans. 
But the financial costs should also concern us, especially in these 
hard times.
  We continue to spend over $12 billion a month to keep our troops in 
Iraq and Afghanistan. We'll also be spending countless billions of 
dollars to provide help for our veterans, many of whom will require 
extensive health care for decades to come.
  Mr. Speaker, our Nation cannot afford to fight two wars at a time 
when our economy is on the brink of collapse. We tried to have guns and 
butter back in the Vietnam War. It didn't work and it won't work now.
  It is obvious that we're overextended. That's why I've called for the 
redeployment of our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan and for a bold, 
aggressive recovery plan to save our economy here at home.
  On January 20, Mr. Speaker, I sent a letter to our brand new 
President Obama calling for a worldwide cease-fire, or a timeout, from 
war. This would allow us to work with the world community to use 
diplomacy, reconciliation, and humanitarian assistance to resolve 
disputes and to fight terrorism.
  This approach would be especially effective in Afghanistan where war 
has never worked. As a matter of fact, war hasn't worked for any 
invader of Afghanistan down through history. Building schools, building 
hospitals, building roads is the best way to fight the Taliban.
  Mr. Speaker, it's time to rebuild our country and rethink our foreign 
policy. The old ways have failed, and we must take bold, new action. It 
means an economic recovery package big enough to do the job and a new 
commitment to peace around the world. It means we should follow the 
example of Reverend Glenda Hope because she would invest in the 
neediest among us, and that would be the way to get started in this 
world of ours.

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