Ron Paul Quotes.com 2002 Ron Paul Chapter 37 Amendment 9 9 May 2002 Home Page   Contents   Cached from Ron Paul’s Congressional website. Congressional Record (Page H2369)   Cached

2002 Ron Paul 37:1 Mr. PAUL. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, first I would like to thank the cosponsors of this amendment, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. BARR), the gentleman from Utah (Mr. CANNON), the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. DUNCAN), the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. GOODE), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. SESSIONS), the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. WAMP), and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. WELDON). 2002 Ron Paul 37:2 This amendment is not complex at all. It is a sense of Congress resolution as put in the bill. It says, “It is the sense of Congress that none of the funds appropriated pursuant to authorizations of appropriations in this Act should be used for any assistance to, or to cooperate with or to provide any support for the International Criminal Court.” 2002 Ron Paul 37:3 This amendment is to urge the President not to use any funds for the International Criminal Court. I would like it to be a mandate. It is not, but it is still very, very important. I think this sends a message to our servicemen that they will never have to be taken into court against their will in the International Criminal Court. 2002 Ron Paul 37:4 On December 31, right before the last day of the treaty, the Rome Convention, could be signed, our President signed this convention, but it has never been ratified. It has not been brought to the Senate. It was too late, and our President now does not have any intention. We might say why worry about it, but just recently we all know that the President has essentially rescinded the signature on this treaty to make the point that we do not want our servicemen called in and tried in International Criminal Court as war criminals. So it is a protection of the servicemen. 2002 Ron Paul 37:5 But the interesting thing is that under this Rome Convention, the agreement is once 60 nations sign the treaty, it goes into effect. Even with what the President did by rescinding the signature and saying we do not want any part of it, we are still under international law under the understanding that our servicemen could be called into International Criminal Court. 2002 Ron Paul 37:6 We have to make this message very loud and clear. This is not overly strong, but I think we should make this message and say that none of these funds should be spent, but we still have to offer protection to our personnel that they never be called into this International Criminal Court. To me, it is an issue of national sovereignty, and it is an issue that is important to a lot of Americans. It is what our job should be, to protect our country. For this reason, I think this is very important. I hope I can get Members to agree with the amendment and pass it. 2002 Ron Paul 37:7 Mr. Chairman, earlier this week President Bush took the bold step of renouncing the signature of the United States on the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The Bush Administration, in explaining this move, correctly pointed out that this court has unchecked power that contradicts our Constitution and its system of checks and balances; that the Court is “open for exploitation and politically- motivated prosecutions;” and that “the ICC asserts jurisdiction over citizens of states that have not ratified the treaty” — which undermines American sovereignty. 2002 Ron Paul 37:8 President Bush, in renouncing the U.S. signature and declaring that the United States would have nothing to do with the International Criminal Court, has put the Court on notice that the United States will defend its sovereignty and its citizens. The president is to be most highly commended for standing strong for American sovereignty in the face of worldwide attempts to undermine that sovereignty with this deeply flawed global court. 2002 Ron Paul 37:9 But there is no time to rest on this victory. As Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stated this week, upon our renunciation of the ICC: “Unfortunately, the ICC will not respect the U.S. decision to stay out of the treaty. To the contrary, the ICC provisions claim the authority to detain and try American citizens — U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, as well as current and future officials — even though the United States has not given its consent to be bound by the treaty.” Secretary Rumsfeld added, “When the ICC treaty enters into force this summer, U.S. citizens will be exposed to the risk of prosecution by a court that is unaccountable to the American people, and that has no obligation to respect the Constitutional rights of our citizens.” 2002 Ron Paul 37:10 Secretary Rumsfeld is correct. It is clear that the International Criminal Court has no intention of honoring our president’s decision to neither participate in nor support their global judicial enterprise. According to the Statutes of the court, they do indeed claim jurisdiction over Americans even though the president has now stated forcefully that we do not recognize the Court nor are we a party to the Treaty. 2002 Ron Paul 37:11 I have introduced this amendment to the Defense Authorization Act, therefore, to support the president’s decision and to indicate that Congress is behind him in his rejection of this unconstitutional global court. it is imperative that we not award the International Criminal Court a single tax dollar to further its objective of undermining our sovereignty and our Constitutional protections. How could we do anything less: each of us in this body has taken an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States? 2002 Ron Paul 37:12 I am also introducing today a Sense of the Congress bill to commend President Bush for his bold and brave decision to renounce the United States’ signature on the Statute of the International Court. We must support the president as he seeks to protect American servicemen and citizens from this court. I hope all of my colleagues here will co-sponsor and support this legislation, and please call my office for more details. 2002 Ron Paul 37:13 In the meantime, I urge enthusiastic support of this amendment before us. We must speak with one voice in denying the International Criminal Court a single American tax dollar! 2002 Ron Paul 37:14 Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time. This chapter appeared in Ron Paul’s Congressional website at http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2002/cr0509202.htm

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