The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under
the Speaker’s announced policy of January
19, 1999, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. PAUL) is recognized during
morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
1999 Ron Paul 13:1 Mr. PAUL.
Mr. Speaker, the President
has stated that should a peace
treaty be signed between Serbia and
Kosovo he plans to send in at least 4,000
American soldiers as part of a NATO
peacekeeping force.
1999 Ron Paul 13:2 We, the Congress, have been informed
through a public statement by the
President that troops will be sent. We
have not been asked to act in a constitutional
fashion to grant the President
permission to act. He is not coming
to us to fully explain his intentions.
The President is making a public
statement as to his intentions and we
are expected to acquiesce, to go along
with the funding, and not even debate
the issue, just as we are doing in Iraq.
1999 Ron Paul 13:3 That is not a proper constitutional
procedure and it should be condemned.
Silence in the past, while accommodating
our Presidents in all forms of foreign
adventurism from Korea and Vietnam
to Iraq and Bosnia, should not be
the standard the Congress follows.
1999 Ron Paul 13:4 The Constitution is clear: Our Presidents,
from Washington to Roosevelt,
all knew that initiating war was clearly
the prerogative of the Congress, but
our memories are flawed and our reading
of the law is careless. The President
should not be telling us what he
plans to do, he should be giving us information
and asking our advice. We
are responsible for the safety of our
troops, how taxpayers’ dollars are
spent, the security of our Nation, and
especially the process whereby our Nation
commits itself to war.
1999 Ron Paul 13:5 Citing NATO agreements or U.N. resolutions
as authority for moving
troops into war zones should alert us
all to the degree to which the rule of
law has been undermined. The President
has no war power, only the Congress
has that. When one person can
initiate war, by its definition, a republic
no longer exists.
1999 Ron Paul 13:6 The war power, taken from the Congress
50 years ago, must be restored. If
not, the conclusion must be that the
Constitution of the United States can
and has been amended by presidential
fiat or treaty, both excluding the
House of Representatives from performing
its duty to the American people
in preventing casual and illegal
wars.
1999 Ron Paul 13:7 Some claim that the Kosovo involvement
must be clarified as to where the
money will come to finance it, the surplus
or Social Security. This misses
the point. We have and should exert
the power of the purse, but a political
argument over surpluses versus Social
Security is hardly the issue.
1999 Ron Paul 13:8 Others have said that support should
be withheld until an exit strategy is
clearly laid out. But the debate should
not be over the exit strategy. It is the
entry process that counts.
1999 Ron Paul 13:9 The war powers process was set early
on by our Presidents in dealing with
the North African pirates in the early
19th century. Jefferson and Madison,
on no less than 10 occasions, got Congress
to pass legislation endorsing each
military step taken. It has clearly been
since World War II that our Presidents
have assumed power not granted to
them by the Constitution, and Congress
has been negligent in doing little
to stop this usurpation.
1999 Ron Paul 13:10 In the case of Kosovo, no troops
should be sent without the consent of
Congress. Vague discussion about
whether or not the money will come
out of Social Security or the budget
surplus or call for an exit strategy will
not suffice. If the war power is taken
from the President and returned to the
Congress, we would then automatically
know the funds would have to be appropriated
and the exit strategy would be
easy: when we win the war.
1999 Ron Paul 13:11 Vague police actions authorized by
the United Nations or NATO, and implemented
by the President without
congressional approval, invites disasters
with perpetual foreign military entanglements.
The concept of national
sovereignty and the rule of law must be
respected or there is no purpose for the
Constitution.
Note:
1999 Ron Paul 13:7
Ungrammatical Some claim that the Kosovo involvement must be clarified as to where the money will come to finance it probably should be
Some claim that the Kosovo involvement must be clarified as to whence the money will come to finance it.
