Dennis Kucinich

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. I thank my colleagues very much, for whom I have the greatest respect, for the opportunity to discuss this; although I painfully must disagree with you here. Broad sanctions against Iran can only further isolate Iran from the international community and cause the regime to be increasingly secretive. The sanctions actually play directly into the hands of the Iranian Government. They directly undermine the efforts of the Iranian people, who have courageously challenged their government often at the cost of their lives. The sanctions could be seen as a gift to the regime, not just a political gift for polarization within their country to cross opposition, but also an economic gift because the price of oil will go up, and Iran will cash in on that. Section 302 of this bill revokes the President's authority to license the export of civilian aircraft parts and repairs for Iranian civil aircraft, authority which would ensure the safety of flight for humanitarian purposes. This provision recklessly places the lives of Iranian Americans in danger. We ought to defeat this bill and stand for diplomacy. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise to claim time in opposition.

Mr. KUCINICH. Well, I thank the gentleman for pointing that out.

Mr. KUCINICH. I'm asking you, when you say this was amended out, it was amended out with respect to the citation of the Russian Federation----

Mr. KUCINICH. As well as the section which spoke directly to the restrictions on the payments.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. We're rapidly moving from Iran sanctions to sanctioning the world here. I stand in support of nonproliferation. I think that this country should be leading the world towards nuclear abolition. Let us not forget that when the Soviet Union fell, there was one country that got rid of its nuclear weapons, Ukraine. And Ukraine today, while there are political problems there, they still stand strong as a nation among nations for having taken that direction. We need to be encouraging all of the nations of the world to get rid of their nuclear weapons. But if we don't do that and we instead say: We will keep our nuclear weapons, and half a dozen other nations and more can keep their nuclear weapons, but you, you, you and you, you cannot have nuclear weapons, actually what we're doing is we're setting the stage for more proliferation. It is the inconsistent U.S. policy on nuclear proliferation that has actually brought us to this moment. So I have a great deal of sympathy for my colleagues who don't want to see more nuclear proliferation among certain nations, but I would ask them to join me in taking a stand for nuclear abolition among all nations. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I will once again yield time to a colleague who I may disagree with, but he is entitled to 3 minutes, and I will yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman).

Mr. KUCINICH. I yield the gentleman an additional minute.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The Congressional Quarterly House Action Report on this legislation states the following: that the measure, however, exempts such restrictions for assistance for the Bashir nuclear reactor in Iran which is being developed with the aid of Russian entities unless the President determines such assistance is contributing to Iran's development of nuclear weapons. Now, that is very interesting because what that means is that it is not axiomatic that the mere presence of nuclear power capability necessarily means that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. As a matter of fact, you wouldn't have that provision unless the President had the authority to be able to make a finding with respect to the development of nuclear weapons by Iran. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH. Could I ask how much time remains?

Mr. KUCINICH. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Dr. Robert Pape from Harvard's Journal of International Security has been quoted as saying the following: Sanctions have failed to achieve their objectives in 95.7 percent of cases since World War I, and sanctions are more than three times more likely to end in military conflict than success. So what we have here is that sanctions inevitably equal a failure of diplomacy, and war becomes a failure of sanctions. So we must ask ourselves, while we stand here for nonproliferation, something that I agree with, how do we stop the nonproliferation of war? Particularly, how do we forestall any possibility of a nuclear war? Now, Lawrence Korb was the Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Reagan administration, and he serves now as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. Last month, he submitted an article to the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, and I want to quote from it because it's relevant not only to this debate, but it is relevant to the economic stress this country is feeling right now. He says that since the second term of the Reagan administration, nuclear weapons have been of declining strategic relevance, but our budget barely reflects that. Our country is slated to spend $700 billion over the next 10 years on nuclear weapons programs. This is unsustainable, a directionless budget driven in large part by inertia and the pressure from Members of Congress to preserve programs in their own States at the expense of the country as a whole. Military leaders agree that spending on these programs is disconnected from a strategic vision and that we are at risk of wasting a vast amount of money. General James Cartwright, former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has argued we haven't really exercised the mental gymnastics, the intellectual capital on what is required for nuclear deterrence yet. I'm pleased that it's starting. Other leaders from the Pentagon have also identified nuclear weapons programs as an area to make cuts. The commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, General Robert Kehler, has pointed to the unsustainability of this spending. We're not going to be able to go forward, he said, with weapons systems that cost what weapons systems cost today. A case in point is a long-range strike bomber; a case in point is the Trident submarine replacement. The list goes on. The savings to the American taxpayer could be considerable. The long- range penetrating bomber will cost $50 billion over the next 10 years and fills no need that isn't already filled by our existing fleet of B- 52 and B-2 bombers. Rightsizing our fleet of nuclear-armed Trident subs to eight or fewer from 12 and building no more than eight new nuclear-armed subs would save approximately $26 billion over the next decade and help close the budget deficit and reduce Russia's incentive to maintain a large nuclear arsenal in the bargain, and we will still have a nuclear arsenal vastly superior to any other and remain a deterrent capacity second to none. Fiscal conservatives have also targeted the nuclear weapons budget as a clear area for cuts. Senator Tom Coburn voted against the new START arms control treaty last December but now advocates spending cuts that would lower the number of nuclear weapons below new START numbers. The point is that, far from saying we shouldn't have other nations proliferating, we should start with ourselves here. Let's start cutting back these nuclear programs. Let's take a stand that all nations should get rid of their nuclear weapons. Let's move forward to see what a world would like look like without nuclear weapons instead of just saying, well, there are some nations that shouldn't have nuclear weapons. Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. KUCINICH. I yield myself an additional 5 minutes. One of the most troubling aspects of this legislation is, and it may be the area of the legislation that has not received much attention but it needs to have attention right now, and that is that this legislation puts this country at odds with Russia in a way that I think is actually against the interests of world peace. It goes on to call out the Russian Federation specifically with respect to saying that they're assisting these nuclear programs. This really, in a sense, is a confession of how far away we've gone from the mark of START I and START II, about how far we've gone away from that time when President Reagan met with Premier Gorbachev to talk about what we can do to start to build down these nuclear weapons. I remember when Vladimir Putin, who is now being reviled, when Vladimir Putin made the offer to President George W. Bush to start to get rid of nuclear weapons, and, unfortunately, his efforts were rebuffed. We should be engaging Russia directly on getting rid of nuclear weapons. Instead, what we have here is a restriction on payments in connection with the International Space Station. That's in here. You know, remember, the International Space Station was the centerpiece of U.S.-Russia cooperation. We held that out as proving that we could work together on Earth as it is in heaven. We showed that that space station was a platform for cooperation and peace between Russia and the United States. What we're doing here is we're saying in effect that all extraordinary payments in connection with the International Space Station to Russian Aviation and Space Agency, any organization or entity under the jurisdiction or control of Russian Aviation and Space Agency, would basically be restricted.

Mr. KUCINICH. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. KUCINICH. May I ask how much time I have left.

Mr. KUCINICH. Does the gentlelady wish to close?

Mr. KUCINICH. It's time for the United States as a Nation to change its direction, to begin to see ourselves as a Nation among nations, not a Nation above nations, to begin to set aside war as an instrument of policy, to be sensitive to the power that we have so that we're not attempting to use our force in a way that would punish someone militarily who doesn't agree with us. The underlying premise that my friends here have of nonproliferation is something I agree with, but where we depart from agreement is where we're focusing on nonproliferation among only a few countries. I will say it again: we need a new direction in America. It's a direction where we stand for peace, not the kind of peace which is some airy-fairy notion, and not just looking at peace as the absence of war, but peace as an active presence and the capacity we have to pursue the science of human relations, and to be able to use diplomacy to get to a place where we all feel secure. But we don't have that today. So what we do is we try to find our security through straitjacketing other nations with sanctions that inevitably are bound to fail and which inevitably turn the people of the countries who we're sanctioning against us and help to strengthen the hands of the regime that's being sanctioned. We need to, as a Nation, take a stand for nuclear abolition once and for all. We need to, as a Nation, get rid of this idea that war is acceptable. We need to determine that we can get strength and be a strong Nation through peace. Strength through peace is the approach that we ought to be taking, have a national security strategy that involves strength through peace and let our diplomacy, let our pursuit of diplomacy guide us in taking our relations with other nations to a new level. This isn't naive. I stood here challenging the war in Iraq, and I was right about that. And I can tell you that this Congress took a direction that wasted $5 trillion, the lives of almost 5,000 of our troops, tens of thousands of troops injured, millions of Iraqis dead. Why don't we try diplomacy rather than sanctions? It's something that we really haven't tried, and it's time that we did. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Team 4Mil as they continue their mission to inspire, invigorate, and support wounded veterans through rehabilitative cycling programs and competitions. Team 4Mil is a volunteer, non-profit 501(c)(3) public charity comprised of veterans from all branches of the United States military. This group of athletes has joined together to produce a cycling team which competes annually in Race Across America, RAAM, in order to generate support and promote the Wounded Warrior Project. This cycling competition is among the most strenuous acts of endurance. A three thousand mile course, which stretches from coast to coast, is travelled twenty four hours a day and takes about a week to complete, pushing even the most elite athletes to their limits. For Team 4Mil this act of endurance is a commemoration to those who have so bravely served our country. By participating in this highly regarded competition, Team 4Mil hopes to raise funds and spread awareness of the Wounded Warrior Project, which aims to ensure that injured veterans returning from service are successfully and fully adjusted back to civilian life. The Wounded Warrior Project enables fellow veterans such as Team 4Mil to support and aid those who have sustained serious injury while serving their country. Mr. Speaker and Colleagues, please join me today in honoring Team 4Mil as they continue their journey of extraordinary determination and manifest their duty to those who have bravely served our country.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Mr. Rick Case and in acknowledgement of his 50th anniversary as the owner and founder of the Rick Case Automotive Group, located in Northern Ohio, South Florida and Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Case began his work with automobiles while in high school by selling cars from his parents' yard. The business has grown from a local Ohio dealership to 16 dealerships in three different states. Rick Case founded the Rick Case Automotive Group in 1962 in Northeast Ohio and expanded to South Florida and Atlanta in 1986. Today, the Rick Case Automotive Group employs more than 900 people. Rick Case Automotive Group has been honored with many awards over the years. It was presented with the Honda President's Award in 2009 and in 2011, the Rick Case Automotive Group was the recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Mr. and Mrs. Case have also received the title of ``Business Leaders of the Year'' from the Florida Sun Sentinel and ``Humanitarians of the Year'' by Nova Southeast University. Beyond running a successful business, Mr. and Mrs. Case founded the Rick Case Bikes for Kids program to provide bicycles for the less fortunate children in their community. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honoring Rick Case and the Rick Case Automotive Group's 50th anniversary.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Mr. John A. Pestovic, Sr., who is being honored by the Polish Legion of American Veterans at the 52nd Annual Veteran and Women of the Year Recognition Banquet. Mr. Pestovic was born on November 28, 1940 in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Lawn Elementary and Tremont Elementary Schools. After graduating from Lincoln High School in 1958, Mr. Pestovic joined the Army. Mr. Pestovic joined the 86th Engineer Battalion at Fort Dix New Jersey once he was a properly trained electrician. In 1959, he was deployed to Seoul, Korea with the Area Engineers of Headquarters Detachment Seoul. Mr. Pestovic spent a year abroad and then returned to Missouri to lead a group of electricians handling fire ranges. February 12, 1962 marked the end of Mr. Pestovic's service; he left service with the rank of Specialist E-5. From the early sixties until his retirement in May of 2000, Mr. Pestovic worked with AT&T and Ohio Bell. Since 1982, Mr. Pestovic has been an active member of Post # 30 of the Polish Legion of American Veterans. Since 1963, Mr. Pestovic has been married to Marene Skufca. They are the proud parents of two sons, Edward and John Jr. John Jr. served America, like his father, in the U.S. Navy and now works at the Pentagon. Edward is an architect in Texas. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in congratulating Mr. John A. Pestovic as he is being honored at the Polish Legion of American Veterans' 52nd Annual Veteran and Women of the Year Recognition Banquet.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. I thank the gentleman. After $5.3 billion was spent in the 2008 Federal elections, I never heard anyone utter a word that said the problem we face today in Washington is that we need more private money in politics. Never has anyone said to me, I wish the super-rich had more influence over our government and elected officials, especially in campaigns for President and Congress. I never received a letter from a constituent that expressed a desire to get further away from one person-one vote and move closer to one corporation-one vote. What I have heard from my constituents is a deafening demand to get money out of politics. This bill takes us in the opposite direction. We should be chasing the moneychangers out of the people's temple, not turning our government into an auction house. This legislation is upside down. Private financing of elections corrodes our democracy. Private contributions of Federal elections must end. Private financing equals government in the private interest. Public financing--the hope of government in the public interest. We need to restore our democracy and end private contributions. We shouldn't have any contributions from special interests. We need government of the people, by the people, and for the people returned to this government.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. The right to organize is a fundamental right in a democratic society. In fact, workers' rights are human rights. This bill seeks to frustrate workers' rights to an election through attacking the National Labor Relations Board. Today workers have to wait an average of 101 days to cast a ballot in an election, 101 days to wait for union representation. How long should workers have to wait to be able to assert their fundamental rights in a democratic society if we really believe in democracy? Some of us believe that when a majority of workers want to be able to have a union, they should be able to do so forthwith. We believe in government of the people. Why then would corporations want to block or frustrate the right of workers to be able to organize? I think it's pretty obvious. When workers are organized, they have the ability to participate in being able to say what their wages are worth. So this is about wages. It's about benefits. It's about workplace safety, about working conditions. Workers rights are human rights. And this assault on the NLRB actually ends up being translated into a fundamental assault on our democracy. If we believe in a democracy, then we believe in a right to organize, a right to collective bargaining, a right to strike, a right to decent wages and benefits, a right to a secure retirement, a right for workers to participate in a political process. This is America. Let's lift up the standard of workers--not attack it by making the day of their election and claiming a union farther and farther away almost to the point of nullification. Stand up for the American workers. Defeat this bill.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. While Congress is in a deadlock over tax and spending cuts, we learn the Feds secretly gave Wall Street banks over $7.7 trillion. Where did the Fed get that 7.7 trillion? They created most of it from nothing. While our government slid into massive debt, the Fed picked winners and losers and secretly helped big banks tally record profits. Remember the great debate we had here over $700 billion in TARP funds? There was no debate over the $7.7 trillion the Fed gave the banks. Did Congress have a clue? There's another game going on way over our heads, and our constituents are struggling while the banks, with the help of the Fed, have captured control of our government. Now the rating services are threatening us that if we don't come up with a deal, they'll downgrade U.S. debt. Could the threat to our national sovereignty be any clearer? It's time for Congress to listen to the wisdom of our Founders and reclaim its constitutional primacy over monetary policy. There is a way. It is called the NEED Act. The Fed takes our freedom and gives it to the banks. Let's take our freedom back from the Fed.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the Spanish American Committee for a Better Community, an organization that has been addressing the most pressing issues of the Hispanic/Latino community living in Cleveland since 1966. It is celebrating its 45th anniversary on November 18, 2011. The Spanish American Committee for a Better Community is the oldest and largest Hispanic human services organization in Ohio and serves more than 5,500 people annually. Its vision is to continuously enhance programs and services designed to foster self-sufficiency, career readiness, and wealth creation for individuals, children, and families, with a goal of creating socioeconomic stability in the community and in the entire Northeast Ohio region. It offers programming in several areas including family support, early childhood enrichment, educational training, home ownership counseling and employment training. The success achieved by the Spanish American Committee is acknowledged by outside organizations. The United Way recognizes the Spanish American Committee as a partnering agency. The Spanish American Committee is a national affiliate member of the National Council of La Raza. Additionally, the United States of America's Department of Housing and Urban Development has certified the Spanish American Committee as a housing council site. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honoring the Spanish American Committee for a Better Community as they celebrate 45 years of community assistance.