Darrell Issa

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to yield 44 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) and that he may control that time.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, certainly the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) had every intention in making sure that every Member got an opportunity to speak.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, in an effort to keep fairness in this body, I believe there are more speakers on the other side of the aisle, and I would like to inquire how much longer they would need in order to find a way to equalize time?

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Ohio for his thoughtful comments. I may not agree with all of them, but the contribution that he has made in this body will be sorely missed with his departure. And I know that I share with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle in knowing that this body will be poorer for not having the kind of insight and the kind of caring that we have just heard. I know this debate has gone on long, but some things are worth going on a little longer, and I once again would like to express my appreciation for his thoughtful comments.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I would ask for the time remaining now on the two sides.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I have chosen to remain silent and our side has held their debate because we want to allow full time for those opposed to have their word; but sometimes as you listen to a series of words you begin to see a pattern. And I think the American people, Mr. Speaker, need to also hear maybe some of the realities that are not being mentioned. This is not the beginning of a new war. In fact, President Herbert Bush, President Clinton, and now President George W. Bush have all, in fact, had to make strikes in Iraq to contain this evil dictator. In fact, President Clinton has made probably the largest strikes since the Gulf War during his administration. And at that time I do not believe that we heard in this body something about new preemptive acts of war. In fact, what we understood was we had a dictator who continued to use his remaining force and the ill-gotten revenues that he is getting from his clandestine selling of oil from outside the food program to, in fact, intimidate his neighbors and rebuild his weapons of mass destruction. So as much as I certainly want to yield as much time to my colleagues who oppose this, I think the American people, Mr. Speaker, must understand that this is by no means a new war. The President is not asking for a new war. In fact, what he is asking for is a recognition that after 11-plus years of a war which has not ended because this dictator has not met his responsibilities, responsibilities he agreed with the United Nations to keep, that in fact the President has said, our President now has said, I must in fact have the tools to be able to go further to get the compliance. And I would hope that all of us in this body would very much understand the historic context in which I say the war has never ended. We are only asking to continue a direction that President Herbert Bush started, President Clinton continued, and now President George W. Bush has on his desk; and we hold him responsible for our safety. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons).

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette).

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson).

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg).

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I join my many esteemed colleagues today in support of the resolution authorizing the President to use force against Iraq. This is a historic moment in our country, and it should not be taken lightly. But it is not the first historic moment when it comes to Saddam Hussein's regime. This is hopefully the last chapter in a long saga of our dealings with Saddam Hussein. More than 20 years ago he began to endanger his neighbors. More than 12 years ago he invaded Kuwait. His cruel regime has had a long history of the kind of practices that are not tolerated anywhere on this globe, and yet they persist. Mr. Speaker, Saddam Hussein is in fact writing the last chapter as we speak in a 12-year war. We are not considering action which would be preemptive or a strike to begin a war. We are, in fact, dealing with an absence of peace which has cost America lives and time and effort for more than a decade. Over the past 10 years he has made a mockery of the United Nations and the multi-national diplomacy that we have in fact participated in. He has systematically undermined the United Nations resolutions that were designed to disarm and reform his regime. He threw out weapons inspectors in 1998 and has rebuilt his weapons of mass destruction; and there is no question he intends to target America. In fact, in 1993 he targeted President George Herbert Bush for assassination. Each of those events was more than sufficient for us to do what we now must do. But the United States was patient. The United Nations was patient. We have all been patient for more than a decade. I believe that we need not look for the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back; but in fact we need to simply ask, Why did we wait so long? Why did we tolerate this dictator so long? Even why in 1998 when the last administration rightfully so called for a regime change did we not act? I hope that this body in its consideration of this resolution does not ask why should we act today, but in fact should ask why should we not act and why did we take so long? Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman).

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Crane).

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer).

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. We will proceed with two in a row and then yield. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis). (Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the gentleman on the other side of the aisle if we could agree to a 2- or 3-to-1 split in order to normalize the time, since there is such a disparity in the amount consumed.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, could I inquire as to the time remaining on both sides.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Nethercutt). (Mr. NETHERCUTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt).

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Brown).

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), a member of the Committee on International Relations.