Doc Hastings

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I would just remind my friend that we do not know what is going to come out of these hearings. There may be some legislation that comes out. It will go through the process, and if there is something, it will get to the floor and we will have that debate.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I appreciate what the gentleman is asking for, and as I mentioned in my remarks, we do have a committee system. The chairman of the committee said that there are going to be those investigations, and I suspect there will be others that will look at it.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This is an important resolution, and I think it is fitting we have this debate on this. But I would remind my friends on the other side of the aisle that we have a system here where we break down this big body into committees. That is the proper way we get to the heart of some of the issues that confront us. And I just talked to the chairman of the Committee on Armed Services, and they are going to have hearings on this. There will be probably several hearings as this process goes through, and I suspect that there will be probably some other committees that will find out if they will have jurisdiction and will look at that. So I just want to say that this is a start of a process that we need to address. Everybody is outraged by what happened over there with that small group of individuals in Iraq. That is not America, and we all know that. We all know that is not America, and that is why I think this resolution will be pass with strong bipartisan support. And I would say this, Mr. Speaker: I thought the President, in his two interviews with the Arab TV stations, said it very well. He was very forthright. And in many respects, what we are just saying here today is a message to the Iraqis and to the Middle East that our form of government and the form of government they are struggling to have, does not condone what went on, and I think that is a very strong message.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 15 seconds to the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter).

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter).

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Armed Services and the author of this resolution.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Rules. (Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes).

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham).

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, how much time remains?

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce), the distinguished Republican Conference chairman.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Goss), the distinguished chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in the House. (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Myrick).

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 628 is a closed rule providing for the consideration of House Resolution 627, deploring the abuse of persons in United States custody in Iraq, regardless of the circumstances of their detention, urging the Secretary of the Army to bring to swift justice to any member of the Armed Forces who has violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and expressing the deep appreciation of the Nation to the courageous and honorable members of the Armed Forces who have selflessly served, or are currently serving, in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and for other purposes. Mr. Speaker, the rule provides for 1 hour of debate in the House, equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Armed Services. The rule provides one motion to recommit, which may not contain instructions. Mr. Speaker, Members of this House, and indeed millions of concerned Americans, have been appalled by reports that Iraqi prisoners have been severely mistreated by their U.S. captors. President Bush has rightly pledged to ensure that those responsible for this abuse are brought to justice, and that process is already under way. Mr. Speaker, in a society like ours that prides itself on its commitment to civil and human rights, there is no place for the sorts of atrocities depicted in recent days in newspaper and television accounts from Iraq. Thankfully, it appears that the reported abuses have been the exception, rather than the rule, during this conflict. But that does nothing to excuse those who carried out or permitted the acts in question to take place. They must be punished swiftly and surely. At the same time, Mr. Speaker, we must not permit the outrageous acts of a relative few to stain the service of more than 100,000 of our brave American men and women who are risking their lives every day in the cause of freedom. They are doing what is right, and they are doing it the right way. Their services make us all proud to be Americans. Therefore, in addition to strongly condemning the acts of abuse by U.S. personnel against Iraqi prisoners, House Resolution 627 also pays tribute to the selfless service of our men and women in uniform. Mr. Speaker, the President has spoken loudly and clearly on this subject, and it is imperative that we in the House do the same. Accordingly, I ask my colleagues to support both the rule and House Resolution 627. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to my friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. (Mr. HASTINGS of Washington asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 628 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker I ask unanimous consent that during consideration of H.R. 2844, pursuant to House Resolution 602, the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on the Judiciary be considered as the original bill for the purpose of amendment, and the amendment I have placed at the desk be in order in lieu of the amendment printed in part B of House Report 108-466 and numbered 3.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 602.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as evidenced by the remarks, this is a very important issue. I want to remind Members, in my opening remarks I mentioned that there are several things that need to be taken up. One, obviously, is a quick way to try to get the elected representatives back here. The other is the issue of incapacitation, which will be taken up next week in the Committee on Rules, and also the issue of a constitutional amendment of the various types that are floating around. That was confirmed by the chairman. There will be more debate on the issue. This is the first step, however. We ought to pass this rule, pass this bill, and continue our discussion on the other issues. General Leave

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I reserve my time.