The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a
previous order of the House, the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. PAUL) is recognized
for 5 minutes.
1999 Ron Paul 5:1 Mr. PAUL.
Mr. Speaker, since World
War II, our presidents have been sending
troops overseas without Congressional
approval. Prior to World War II,
it was traditional and constitutional
that all presidents came to the Congress
for authority to send troops.
1999 Ron Paul 5:2 Recently, the President has announced
that he will most likely be
sending thousands of American troops
under NATO command to Kosovo. I
think this is wrong. I have introduced
legislation today that says that the
President cannot send these troops
without Congressional approval, merely
restating what the Constitution says
and how we followed the rules up until
World War II.
1999 Ron Paul 5:3 Three years ago, the President sent
troops into Bosnia and said they would
be there for 6 months. They have been
there now 3 years. We have spent over
$20 billion. Nobody even asks hardly at
all anymore when these troops will be
coming home.
1999 Ron Paul 5:4 We have been bombing and interfering
with the security of Iraq for now
over 8 years, and that continues, and
we do not give Congressional approval
of these acts. My legislation is simple.
It just denies funding for sending
troops into Kosovo without Congressional
approval.
1999 Ron Paul 5:5 This is not complicated. It is very
precise and very clear and very important
that we as a Congress restate our
constitutional obligation to supervise
the sending of troops around the world.
1999 Ron Paul 5:6 It would be much better for us to
spend this money that is being wasted
in Bosnia and Iraq on our national defense.
We spend less and less money
every year on national defense but we
spend more and more money on policing
the world. I think that policy
ought to change and it is the responsibility
of the Congress, the body that
has control of the purse strings, to do
something about this.
1999 Ron Paul 5:7 If the President is permitted to do
this, he does it not because he has constitutional
authority but because the
Congress has reneged on their responsibility
to supervise the spending.
1999 Ron Paul 5:8 It is a bit ironic now that we are
sending or planning to send troops to
Kosovo. We have all read about and
heard the horrible stories about the
Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, and
yet our troops going to Kosovo are
going to be sent with the intention
that Kosovo cannot be independent;
that they will not be able to separate
themselves from Serbia; that they cannot
decide under what government
they want to live.
1999 Ron Paul 5:9 It is also interesting that one of the
jobs of the troops in NATO, if they go
into Kosovo, will be to disarm the
Kosovo Liberation Army. That is hardly
good sense. First, it is not good
sense for us to give the permission or
renege on our responsibility, but it
does not make good sense to get involved
in a war that has been going on
for many years, but it certainly does
not make good sense for us to go in for
the sole purpose of supporting
Milosevic. He is the one that has been
bombing the Kosovars and here we are,
we want to disarm the liberation forces
and at the same time prevent Kosovo
from becoming independent.
1999 Ron Paul 5:10 The issue here is money, but there is
also a bigger issue and that is the responsibility
that we have to decide
when troops should be sent. Once
troops are sent into a foreign country,
it is very difficult for us to bring our
troops home.
1999 Ron Paul 5:11 Troops in Kosovo will not serve the
interests of the United States. They
will not help our national security. It
will drain funds that should be spent
on national defense. At the same time
it will jeopardize our national security
by endangering our troops and raising
the possibility of us becoming involved
in a war spreading through the Balkans.
This should not occur.
1999 Ron Paul 5:12 So, Mr. Speaker, I am asking my fellow
colleagues to join me in cosponsoring
this legislation just to say that it
is not the prerogative of the President
to send troops around the world whenever
he pleases. That is the prerogative
of the Congress.
1999 Ron Paul 5:13 I do know that it has not been stated
this clearly in the last 40 years, but it
is about time we did. And besides, one
thing more, the President has admitted,
at least it has been in print, that
he is likely to place these troops under
a foreign commander, under a British
general.
1999 Ron Paul 5:14 Mr. Speaker, we do not need this. We
need to restrain the President’s ability
to send troops.
Note:
1999 Ron Paul 5:11
the possibility of us becoming involved in a war
probably should be
the possibility of our becoming involved in a war.
