Cynthia McKinney

Ms. McKINNEY

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar).

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney).

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, the American Security Act of 1999 is a good bill. This bill shows strong support for humanitarian programs. In addition, human rights gains a prominence not seen in a very long time. We also have strong provisions in this bill for our former allies in Vietnam. This legislation also provides much-needed minority recruitment. Black foreign service officers recently settled a lawsuit. We now learn that there are pending lawsuits that have been filed by the Voice of America black employees. For the reason that this Congress for three standing Congresses has not yet provided an authorization bill, we have not yet provided the kind of oversight that we need to have provided. Cultural exchange programs now reflect our interests around the world and not just our specific interests in a few places around the world. And then, most importantly, embassy security is provided for. We are going to see a spirited debate today on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support the American Security Act of 1999. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. McKINNEY

Ms. McKINNEY. I absolutely do, Mr. Chairman.

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps).

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews). (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Chairman, I support this amendment, and I want to make clear why I do. One of the most depraved and beastly actions toward defenseless civilians by armed men in recent conflicts has been the commission of rape as a tool of war. It's been done in Kosovo and in Rwanda. This isn't ``date rape''; it isn't even rape by someone who knows the person he's doing it to. It is rape as a kind of ultimate demonstration of power and control and of contempt for the women being raped and the groups they belong to. As a result, the number of women who have been raped in this way and for these reasons has continued to grow. Like any other form of torture or degradation in wartime, rape as war crime leaves behind devastating physical and especially psychological effects that can last a lifetime. People become unable to sleep, unable to work, unable to trust other people, unable to escape from the constant feeling of the events themselves. The Human Rights subcommittee of which I am the ranking member just held a hearing on the U.S. response to victims of torture. It is obvious that one of the consistent characteristics of the 160 centers worldwide for torture victims--not enough to have live-in facilities for people in the greatest need, not enough to provide even outpatient counseling. We need to do more to help. I commend my colleague Mike Capuano for recognizing that fact and finding a way to start doing so. I strongly support this amendment and I encourage the House to adopt it.

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Chairman, we have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Chairman, there is something about the debate on UNFPA up to this point that has been really interesting. The people against UNFPA do not really want to talk about UNFPA. Instead, they want to talk about China and how bad China's policies are. You could never figure from these folks that UNFPA spends less than 2 percent of its worldwide budget in China and is active in only 32 of China's 2,700 counties. Now, I do not like China's policies on controlling family size, forced abortion or forced sterilization and UNFPA's program in China moves China away from these practices. I would rather talk about the 98 percent rather than the 2 percent. In Uganda, UNFPA runs programs to eliminate female genital mutilation and reduce the number of mothers who die giving birth. In the Philippines, UNFPA helps women achieve economic empowerment. In Kosovo, UNFPA gave pregnant refugee women thousands of clean delivery kits. They did the same thing in Central America after Hurricane Mitch and in Papua-New Guinea after a tidal wave. In Africa, UNFPA is cooperating with UNICEF and WHO on a pilot initiative in seven countries to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. This is what UNFPA does. What UNFPA does not do is support or fund abortions. UNFPA does not condone coercion in family planning nor do they support China's one-child policy and they do not support forced sterilization. If we vote against UNFPA, we will ensure that more mothers will die giving birth, that more children will contract HIV disease and that female genital mutilation will not go away. That cannot be what we want and that is why we have to support UNFPA.

Ms. MCKINNEY

Ms. MCKINNEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I agree that bad diplomacy does make us more vulnerable. But this amendment represents the height of bad diplomacy. We should be trying to pay our more than $1 billion debt that we owe to the United Nations. Great nations should pay their bills. Unfortunately, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul) compounds our shame by introducing an amendment to eliminate all funds for the United Nations, an action that would effectively end U.S. participation in the U.N. Make no mistake, this would spell the demise of the world's most universal forum. Why would anyone want to kill an organization that has brought food to the starving, help to the homeless, pure water to the thirsty, health to the diseased, stability to peoples in conflict, and free elections to the oppressed? But this is not just about altruism. Withholding funds from the U.N. would harm collective efforts to deal with threats that cut across borders, from terrorists to organized crime, and from drug traffickers to environmental damage. Poll after poll has shown that Americans want to participate in solving global problems, but they do not want to do it alone. Americans want to share the burden of responsibility with the peoples of other nations, and we can best do that through the United Nations. Mr. Chairman, the very introduction of this amendment sends a message to the world that there are Americans who live in fear, fear of others and fear of the loss of control. I believe that this fear is a greater threat than that posed by the United Nations. The children of the 21st century deserve a world of peace, stability, and prosperity across the globe. The United States cannot achieve this dream alone. However, with an effective United Nations, the dream can become a reality. I suggest that my colleagues should not kill this dream, but kill this amendment.

Ms. McKINNEY

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Chairman, I am disturbed that some U.S. corporations trading in Africa have blood on their hands. On May 27, a group of Nigerian citizens filed an action against Chevron in a U.S. District Court. They accuse Chevron of assisting Nigerian security forces to commit murder, injure protesters, and ransack and burn villages of the indigenous Nigerians. These protesters were objecting to the destruction of their environment and the plundering of their resources. Unfortunately, evidence gathered by a number of highly respected international human rights and environmental groups support these claims. These types of allegations are a part of a growing list of crimes being committed against the underprivileged peoples of the world. The most serious offenders are the giant oil companies who are hungry to take advantage of the rich oil and mineral resources in Africa. Incredibly, these corporations now deny responsibility for their actions. Our corporations should be required to conduct themselves according to a strict corporate code of conduct that ensures our U.S. corporations become good corporate citizens of the world. I support this amendment because it encourages the development of small business opportunity in Africa and, therefore, protects Africa from the bad elements of corporate America.

Ms. McKINNEY

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support this rule, and I call upon the President of the United States to bring an immediate end to the illegal and immoral bombing of the former Republic of Yugoslavia. From the beginning of the bombing campaign, the Clinton administration has asserted that there are only two alternatives available to us: either do nothing to end the violent oppression of the people of Kosovo, or bomb. That premise is false. And following it, President Clinton set us on a course that former President Carter correctly described as counterproductive, senseless, and excessively brutal. I would add also, entirely avoidable. NATO made a grievous miscalculation in offering an ultimatum to Milosevic at Rambouillet that included provisions in Appendix B that amounted to a NATO military occupation of all of Serbia. Either by design or miscalculation, we abandoned diplomatic channels that were still open in favor of ultimatums and brinksmanship. The result, as we all know, has been the worst humanitarian disaster in Europe since the end of the Second World War. For the past 2\1/2\ months, we have seen vivid evidence of man's capacity for cruelty to his fellow man. Throughout, each side has engaged in a media bidding war each attributing to the other for foreign and domestic political consumption the greater aggression, the greatest atrocity, the most horrific violations of human dignity. I fear that when this war ends, and I fervently hope that it will end soon, we will be subjected to another media war, with each side claiming victory. I do know that our efforts to help the people of Kosovo have left them a nation of refugees with their civilian infrastructure destroyed. We have become a military ally of a terrorist organization, the KLA, and we have effectively destroyed the non- violent Democratic opposition to Milosevic in Yugoslavia. We have trampled international law, marginalized the United Nations, ignored the War Powers Act, and violated the Geneva Convention's prohibition against targeting civilians. Closer to home, we have diverted billions of tax dollars from Social Security and nutrition programs to weapons programs, and our relations with nuclear powers China and Russia have been set back to the days of the Cold War. It is clear to me that there are no winners in this war, no winners, with the possible exception of the weapons makers and the undertakers. Mr. Speaker, cluster bombs dropped on civilians are never and will never be a form of humanitarian intervention. It is time for us to put aside the egos of men and declare peace for our children. It is time to end the bombing.

Ms. McKINNEY

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, peace officers across the country make the choice to serve our communities in order to enhance the good and protect us from evil. Tragically, senseless actions of violence directed against our peace officers can and do happen at any time. The family of Russell Stalnaker, who served on the Atlanta Police Department, know all too well the painful reality of the dangers confronting the men and women on the police force. Several weeks ago Mr. Stalnaker was shot while trying to protect the citizens of Atlanta. He and his family paid the ultimate price so that we all might live in a society that values order and discipline. Sadly, as our country violates international law in Europe, cities across the United States are plagued by violence and lawlessness. Yesterday, I cast my vote in support of H. Res. 165 in honor of Russell Stalnaker and his family. The resolution states that peace officers killed in the line of duty should be honored. We will never forget the sacrifice Russell made in protecting the people of Atlanta. He is a shining example of a good police officer and his sacrifice deserves to be remembered.

Ms. McKINNEY

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, I am deeply distressed by the tragedy taking place in Yugoslavia. I urgently call on all parties to this conflict, including the United Nations and the Russians, to seek a negotiated settlement to this crisis. Mr. Speaker, I do not relish breaking with my President, particularly when matters of war and peace are being debated. But in my opinion on this issue, this administration is headed in the wrong direction. The Clinton administration would have us believe that there are only two alternatives in this crisis, either do nothing or bomb. That premise is false. In following it, President Clinton has taken us on the slippery slope towards war. Our bombing started in Kosovo and has now thoroughly saturated Serbia and Kosovo. It triggered a dramatic increase in the refugee crisis and violence against the Kosovar Albanians. We have killed many innocent civilians, both Serb and Albanian. In addition, the Yugoslav democracy movement has been a casualty, as has been the peaceful Albanian Kosovar resistence to Milosevic's tribal fanaticism. Another unfortunate casualty in this episode has been U.S. respect for international law. The administration sidestepped the United Nations and flouted international law. Mr. Speaker, my gut check on this issue is personal. I am a mother. The question I have asked myself is am I willing to sacrifice the life of my son to follow this administration's policies in Kosovo. It is very clear that the administration has backed itself into a corner, and now wants to take all of us there with it. As for the Rambouillet agreement, I do not hear the administration even mentioning it anymore. For a peace agreement worth bombing for, it has had an amazingly short shelf life. So from Rambouillet implementation to Milosevic's removal to the return of the Kosovars to Kosovo, the goalposts keep shifting. How can we know if we have won if we do not know what we are fighting for? The objective first touted was autonomy for the Kosovars, and now we find ourselves allied with the KLA. So while our rhetoric remains the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia, our actions promote a secessionist movement along ethnic lines in the heart of Europe. Smart bombs are only smart when they back up smart policy. This is the wrong policy for too many reasons.

Ms. McKINNEY

Ms. McKINNEY. Madam Speaker, the Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless in my home State of Georgia provides funds for housing and other services for the homeless in the Atlanta metropolitan area. But an amendment offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barr) to H.R. 1073 would delay funding to the Task Force and set a bad precedent in the distribution of funds for homeless services in the metropolitan area. This amendment creates an administrative carve-out that supersedes current policy. In other words, this amendment is aimed at micromanaging HUD. And why would anyone want to do this? Because the Cobb Family Resources, an affordable apartment community in Cobb County, is run by the wife of the representative who introduced the amendment and who was able to get it passed out of the subcommittee. Madam Speaker, it appears that the amendment is trying to give preferential treatment at the expense of the needy in our communities. That is what I call bad policy and bald- faced personal service at the public's expense. But then, what would anyone expect from anyone who supports the Council of Conservative Citizens, a modern day Ku Klux Klan?

Ms. McKINNEY

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, for several years I have sponsored the Sister to Sister Fly-In, an event that allows women from my district to come to Washington and discuss issues that are important to them, issues like health care, child care, improved public education, and protecting Social Security. Today, I would like to welcome some 50 women from Georgia's 4th Congressional District who are here with me to experience firsthand how our political system works and how they, as women, are changing the landscape of American politics. Currently, 65 women serve in the U.S. Congress, a record 9 in the Senate, and a record 56 in the House. Although we have been shut out of the political process in the past, we have always been in the vanguard of social change, including women like Rosa Parks, whom we honored yesterday with the Congressional Medal of Honor. The increased participation of women in the political process is a must for ensuring that women have an equal say in the crucial issues that affect us all.

Ms. McKINNEY

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 4. I think we all know and I think the American people know that the issue before us is as much about politics as it is about a meaningful debate over national security policy. It appears to me that the Republican Party views missile defense as a good issue for the year 2000 elections. How else could we find ourselves in the sorry position of being asked to write a blank check to build a system that is unproven, that threatens to undermine the arms control efforts of the last six administrations, that could easily be thwarted, that could lead to a second nuclear arms race, and would divert billions of dollars from other neglected defense and nondefense programs? This is certainly a prime example in my opinion of dumb public policy. Apart from squandering billions of dollars on a system that has not been successfully tested, this proposal poses a threat to our national security in three other ways: First, it provides a false sense of security while doing nothing to combat perhaps our most pressing security threat, which is terrorism. A rogue state or a terrorist group is far more likely to deliver a bomb or a chemical or biological attack in a suitcase, a subway train, as was done in Japan, or in a Ryder truck. Second, it will divert resources from other neglected defense programs. Over the past several months, we have heard compelling and professional testimony from the heads of all uniformed services on many other emerging threats to our armed forces, from laser technology that can blind our pilots to sophisticated computer attacks. And every one of the service chiefs has spoken of the immediate need to provide adequate pay and benefits for our most important military asset, our people in the military service, thousands of whom still depend on food stamps to provide for their families. Instead of addressing these issues today, here we are debating spending billions and billions and billions of taxpayers' dollars for the return of Star Wars. Third, deploying a national missile defense system jeopardizes the START process. To quote one commentator: ``The only thing this national missile defense system is ever likely to intercept is billions of taxpayer dollars.''

Ms. McKINNEY

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Chairman, unfortunately, today we are debating sending U.S. forces to keep a peace that does not exist, to carry out an agreement that has not been agreed to, and to assist people on both sides who do not seem to want our help. We are being asked to vote on something we cannot even see, and to sign a blank check. We have written blank checks before, and we have discovered afterwards just how high the cost has been. In what we do on Kosovo, we should first make sure that we have an agreement, know the plans, and know the cost. In thinking about the cost, we should realize how much our own reckless actions have added to the bill. For years we have been selling our highest technology weapons to countries whose possible involvement in this conflict is important, both for those who want us in and those who want us to stay out. By our own actions we have greatly raised the stakes for such a conflict, and we have raised the risks that our soldiers again and again unnecessarily will be facing the products of our own factories. If the parties in Kosovo really want peace, they will both sign the agreement, and if they do not, the mission of our forces will be truly impossible. Arms selling and peacemaking do not mix in Kosovo or anywhere else.

Ms. McKINNEY

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise with sadness in my heart. It is a sad day for our republic. Today, the Republican leadership in the House has proven that they are, in fact, the minority party. The Republican leadership represents the minority view on impeachment, on health care reform, on tax cuts to benefit the wealthy, and on protecting and preserving the social safety net. Today, the Republican leaders have chosen to trample the Constitution with partisan arrogance in order to strike a political blow against President Bill Clinton. Today, the American people clearly oppose impeachment. But the Republican leaders, blind above their own sanctimonious piety and hypocrisy, have chosen to push our Nation to the brink, the brink of a constitutional crisis for their own political benefit. Today, House Republicans held Bill Clinton to a standard that neither the current Speaker, nor the Speaker-elect could meet. Today, our last best hope is that the Senate will be a place where reason takes the place of revenge. I cast my vote against impeachment today because that is what my constituents want, and because I know that that is the right thing to do. Today, the Republicans decided that in order to save America, they had to destroy it.

Ms. McKINNEY

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, although I do not intend to object, I would like to thank the chairman, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrich) and the Democratic leadership for bringing this bill to the floor. This bill makes note of the positive relationship between our country and that of Mozambique and commends Mozambique for its progress in democratization and respect for human rights. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.

Ms. McKINNEY

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, today as I welcome the Foreign Minister of Mozambique, the Honorable Leonardo Simao, I also Rise to Honor a true statesman and peackemaker--President Joaquim Alberto Chissano. President Chissano assumed the Presidency of Mozambique in November 1, 1986, after his country has been at war--with almost no interval of peace--for more than 22 years. Mozambique now has peace and a pluralistic democratic political system. Much of the credit for this--as well as for similar developments in other countries in the region--must go to the quiet and steady work of this Mozambican statesman. Chissano pursued peace by negotiation no matter now few the cards he held in comparison to more powerful players. HE earned respect from his people and from foreigners alike as he led his country through many difficult years. In sum, Mozambique has suffered more than its share from war. It has given more than its share for regional peace and cooperation. They sought--and also gave--the hand of solidarity. President Chissano expressed these Mozambican values and gave them direction. Africa and the world can learn and take hope from his example.

Ms. McKINNEY

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, pardon me, but today I rise because I am outraged by a New York Times report that the Department of Defense has requested between $50 and $100 million for Viagra, the new sex drug designed for impotent men. Instead of offsetting this request from its $26 billion budget, Secretary Cohen has requested an increase in the 1999 military readiness bill. When the military brass were on Capitol Hill saying that our reasonable belt tightening had resulted in an impotent military, I guess I did not fully understand the scope of the problem. With $50 million worth of Viagra, the entire military industrial complex will be locked, cocked and ready to rock. Pretty scary. Mr. Speaker, they just do not get it, with Monica-gate, the Aberdeen Proving Ground sex scandal and widespread sexual assaults throughout the military, our Commander-in-Chief and his Secretary of Defense concocted this idea that our military needs this extra expenditure. Let us have no more talk of this expanding malfunctioning missile salvation operation.

Ms. McKINNEY

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, today's Washington Post Editorial calls the Republican Omnibus Parks Bill ``pork.'' The Washington Post did not get it quite right. It is not just a pork bill, it is the pork bill straight from the environmental butchers. People in Georgia are very concerned about the bill's provision for Cumberland Island. This bill will carve up Cumberland Island, so that it can be served on a silver platter to one of America's wealthiest families. The butchery of Cumberland Island is not just pork, it is old fashioned Republican service with a smile. What else can we expect from the Republican Party. They failed their polluting friends when they wanted to dirty our water and air. Now they are trying to let their other friends buy our national treasures. In contrast to the TV commercial, this work is not the other white meat. This pork bill is Republican green. Republicans have always believed that America should reward the wealthiest and most privileged among us. And what better way to keep giving to the rich than by robbing the American people of a national treasurer of Cumberland Island. If this bill makes it out of Congress, I will urge the President to veto it. I ask my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this pork bill.

Ms. McKINNEY

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of a forgotten component of today's farm debate, the African American and other minority farmers. Mr. Speaker, this Congress is working at revealing speed to fashion a package of disaster assistance for our Nation's farmers, only some of our most needy farmers do not qualify, and more do not even know about it. The President has requested $7.1 billion in emergency relief for Congress to consider, and we have heard the moving testimonials about low prices and devastating drought. However, African American and minority farmers have borne a weight even more severe than heavy debt and poor harvesting, that of discrimination and racism. This discrimination has been acknowledged by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Secretary Glickman personally told me that this issue was a priority for his office. Now unfortunately even the Inspector General of USDA indicts Secretary Glickman as the culprit in the lack of relief for America's minority farmers. I say no farm relief unless minority farmers and African American farmers are included.

Ms. McKINNEY

Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, once again the Republicans are showing their true colors. In this recent mailer, the California Republican Party urged citizens to vote Republican by using a photograph of four Latino lawmakers in order to scare white voters. Mike Madrid, director of the California Republican Party, said that the mailer was targeted at liberals, not Latinos. If this is true, then why did not Mr. Madrid picture any one of several white liberals currently serving in the State legislature? First Loretta Sanchez and now this. How many times will the Republicans use racist tactics to divide America? Mr. Madrid asserted that the mailer is not racist because he designed it and he is Latino. Well, if that is the case, then I have a suggestion. Rather than Director Mike, perhaps he should be known as Uncle Tom. Mr. Speaker, I include the mailer for the Record: Liberal Democrats in the Assembly have an agenda for California: Higher taxes to pay for more social programs.\1\ Welfare without work requirements for able-bodied adults.\1\ Weakening our 3-Strikes Law.\1\ Legalizing same-sex marriages.\1\