[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14969]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  ENDING WAR OF WORDS WITH NORTH KOREA

  (Ms. LEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call for an end to the 
dangerous war of words between President Trump and North Korean 
officials.
  Provoking Kim will not make us any safer. It will only raise the 
temperature on an already volatile situation. As everyone in this 
Chamber knows, a conflict on the Korean Peninsula would be 
catastrophic.
  Let me be clear: a war with North Korea would put millions of lives 
at risk, and the threat of nuclear weapons only heightens tensions. 
Diplomacy is the only answer. However, President Trump's rhetoric has 
destabilized us over our process and stopped it before it could even 
begin.
  This administration needs to end the name calling and saber rattling. 
President Trump must deescalate his rhetoric before it is too late. 
Direct talks remain our best chance of resolving this conflict 
peacefully.
  We must also remind the President that he does not possess the power 
to declare war without congressional approval. It is up to Congress, 
not the White House, to debate and vote on military action.
  Congress must immediately vote on Representative Lieu's no first use 
bill, H.R. 669, to prevent the President from unilaterally authorizing 
a nuclear strike.
  Mr. Speaker, it is clear to everyone that there is no military 
solution to this crisis.

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