[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14400]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                LET'S ADDRESS THE ONGOING CRISIS IN IRAQ

  (Mr. HASTINGS of Florida asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I support my colleague and good 
friend, Frederica Wilson, in her effort that she has undertaken to 
#bringbackourgirls, addressing the horror of Boko Haram having 
extracted these girls from their lives, but we also, in addition to 
that responsibility, have an exacting responsibility with reference to 
ongoing circumstances that the President will address tonight.
  On August 14, nearly a month ago, I wrote to the President asking him 
to be mindful of a letter that I include in my remarks to Speaker 
Boehner. What I wrote to Speaker Boehner was:

       I respectfully call upon you to bring Congress back into 
     session, so that we can meet our constitutional 
     responsibility to address the ongoing crisis in Iraq. As you 
     know, the situation there is becoming increasingly more 
     complex and continues to defy easy resolution.
       There is no doubt that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, 
     ISIS, will continue to terrorize the people of Iraq, leading 
     to an increase in tens of thousands of Iraqi Christian, 
     Yazidi, and other refugees who have been driven from their 
     homes.

  We must ask Congress: exercise our constitutional responsibility.

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