[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16133]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1020
                DO WHAT'S RIGHT FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, America has always been known 
to rise to the occasion--the American people, our values--when there is 
a need for us to come together. Just a few minutes ago, I sat in for a 
moment on the recapturing of the enormous bravery of those who were on 
Flight 93, Americans who came together and made a sacrifice. So 
although all my remarks will not speak to the issue of sacrifice, some 
of what I say this morning speaks to the values of the American people 
who always, when called upon, have said: Send me.
  But first I'd like to speak to an issue of just basic fairness. Let 
me give great respect to the constitutional premise that the Senate has 
the right to advice and consent. Of course that comes with the 
Presidential right to nominate persons to serve in his or her 
administration--either at the Cabinet level, under Secretaries, various 
appointees--throughout the administration, administrations from years 
gone by. So I rise today to query the character assassination of 
Ambassador Susan Rice. She has not been nominated.
  We are so fortunate to have such a dynamic Secretary of State in 
Hillary Clinton, who has indicated her desire to leave the 
administration at the end of her term, but has also indicated her 
willingness to continue her work--recently in Syria, possibly even 
today in that devastating area.
  Certainly, her partner at the United Nations for 4 years in diligent, 
excellent, astute, thoughtful and patriotic service has been Susan E. 
Rice, a daughter of Washington, D.C. and parents who loved America, a 
graduate of Stanford University, where of course she earned department 
honors and university distinction, became a Harry S. Truman scholar, 
Phi Beta Kappa and a Rhodes scholarship, certainly a beginning that did 
not warrant the kind of personal attacks that we have seen.
  I think we should leave politics and campaigns and won or lost races 
to November 6, 2012, for you cannot debate a political and Presidential 
campaign around a patriotic public servant. If there is a nomination 
for Ambassador Rice, the Senate has every right to advice and consent, 
and the votes need to be taken on up and down.
  I can assure you that if she is nominated by the President she will 
serve this Nation well, as she has done in the past. I know her well as 
the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs under the Clinton 
administration, dealing with very difficult issues involving African 
countries such as Ethiopia and Eretria, responsive and detailed. Why in 
the world, with others who may have been equally culpable in 
misunderstanding what actually occurred on that day--the tragic day 
where we should be speaking more to the loss of brave Americans in 
Benghazi, Libya--why is she the one that is pinpointed, pinpointed, 
pointed, and with, I think, inappropriate accusations, casting 
aspersions and doing damage to a reputation of service that is 
undeserving?
  So my words are simply this: let's be fair. Let's carry on our rights 
as Members of Congress to speak to the issue of what a tragic incident 
occurred in Benghazi. If there is a nomination--which I hope there will 
be--among the many talented people that the President has, it will be 
his choice. Senators that are eager, friends of mine, Senator Kerry and 
others, may have this opportunity. But let us hold to the premise that 
you are innocent until proven guilty, that someone's great service is 
deserving of respect--and she is deserving of respect. Susan Rice is 
deserving of respect.
  Let me move quickly to this idea that America cannot settle its 
issues of financial concern before the fiscal deadline. See, there is 
no cliff, because as we all well know, the simple premise of making 
sure that we have tax cuts for those making $250,000 and below have the 
right to follow through on the President's premise because this is what 
the American people voted on.
  Vote for the tax relief for $250,000 and below, Mr. Speaker, and move 
forward in reconciliation on doing the right thing for Medicare 
holders, Social Security, and Medicaid. None of that has anything to do 
with the deficit; therefore, we need to know that we are in a 
nonstarter position, Mr. Speaker. We need to go forward and reconcile 
to do what is right for the American people.

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