Waiving Points of Order Against Conference Report on H.R. 2862, Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006
WAIVING POINTS OF ORDER AGAINST CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2862, SCIENCE, STATE, JUSTICE, COMMERCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006 -- (House of Representatives - November 09, 2005)
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, with the passage of this rule, this House will consider the Science, State, Justice, Commerce and related agencies appropriations conference report for fiscal year 2006. I want to begin by congratulating the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), the chairman of the subcommittee, and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Mollohan), the ranking member, for working together to create a bill that seems to be a fair and responsible piece of legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that budgets are moral documents, and where and how we decide to spend the taxpayers' money says more about our values as a society than any speech or political rhetoric possibly could.
This conference report, among other things, rightfully retains language included in the House-passed bill that prohibits funds being used to support or justify the use of torture by the United States Government. Despite the rhetoric coming from the White House, this language is both necessary and appropriate.
As the most powerful democracy in the history of the world, we have a moral responsibility not only to promote the expansion of our democratic values around the world, but perhaps most importantly, to demonstrate our commitment to them through our own practices and in the legislation we pass here in the Congress.
One of the most dramatic and significant tests of that commitment is before us today in the debate over our own use of the abhorrent practice of torture. The United States of America, as the leader of the free world, cannot and must not engage in a behavior which has been condemned around the world by the international community. To engage in such a heinous practice is a betrayal of our own values as defenders of freedom and liberty.
The fact that those who would seek to take away our freedom and the freedom of others utilize such techniques is in no way a justification here.
As a matter of the highest national security, we must openly and outright reject the use of torture as a means of achieving military victory in this or any other war. Our ideals as a Nation demand nothing less. Indeed, the fact that we must even engage in this debate on the House floor is indicative of the deep crisis of conscience which has embroiled the White House.
Senator John McCain is working hard to build on the language in this conference report with regard to torture and include language in the DOD authorization bill prohibiting the use of torture and to make real and meaningful policy changes. His amendment is important. It is broadly supported and should be signed into law as soon as possible.
It is disconcerting that, as we speak here today, the White House is fighting Senator McCain and others who support his initiative every step of the way. Senator McCain certainly knows a lot more about the reality of detention and torture and the ineffectiveness of torture than the President, the Vice President, or the Secretary of Defense.
The recent revelation that the United States has secret prisons around the world and that there is no accountability or there is no oversight of what goes on in those prisons, quite frankly, is a national scandal.
This is not what America is about. This is not what America stands for, and the sad reality is that the reckless behavior of this administration when it comes to torture has put our own soldiers in more jeopardy.
Mr. Speaker, America can do better; and once we pass this conference report, I hope we will all join in a bipartisan way to support Senator McCain's effort to ban torture as a policy for this country once and for all.
Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed that the conferees once again stripped the Sanders provision from this bill that would have prevented funds in the bill from being used to implement provisions in section 215 of the PATRIOT Act. These provisions permit searches of library circulation records, library patron lists, book sales records, or book customer lists.
This amendment passed by a vote of 238-187, yet the Republican leadership has decided to strip it out of the bill. This is wrong and these provisions, like so many others in the PATRIOT Act, quite frankly should be stripped out of the bill as well.
Mr. Speaker, the American people do not want this provision. A majority in this Congress do not want this provision, and yet somehow it managed to basically be null and voided in the conference committee.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, this conference report includes language prohibiting the White House from blocking the importation of discount prescription drugs through trade agreements. That means that the White House cannot subvert the House's authority by preventing the American people from having access to life-saving, affordable prescription drugs. I strongly believe that access to affordable medication and health care should be a right in this country and not the fodder of a political power struggle. Health care should be a right in the United States of America and not a privilege.
I applaud my colleagues in both Houses for demonstrating the rare political will to constrain the power of this White House in the interest of protecting the American people.
Mr. Speaker, as I said before, budgets are moral documents, and this budget is a statement of America's principles. The level of funding the committee had to work with is woefully small because of the fiscal ineptitude of the Republican leadership in Congress and the Bush administration. Their policy of tax cuts for the rich and a continual growing of the Federal deficit has forced important programs like legal services for the poor and COPS funding to be cut. This is irresponsible, and this does not reflect the wishes and values of the American people.
With that, Mr. Speaker, let me once again commend Chairman Wolf and Ranking Member Mollohan for making the best out of a bad situation. I appreciate their help and their hard work.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, let me close as I began today by pointing out to my colleagues that this conference report prohibits funding from being used by the United States Government for torture. We need to make this the absolute policy of our country.
Friday is Veterans Day, and we need to do everything we can to honor our veterans, but we can honor our veterans in part by doing everything we can to protect the soldiers who are now on the field, and that must mean making torture something that this country will never be part of.
I am horrified, quite frankly, by the behavior of the White House on this issue. They attempted to try to undermine what Senator McCain has tried to do in the Senate and what some of us have tried to do here in the House. Those who believe that torture should have no place in America or American society are frustrated by what the White House is trying to do. We are a much better country.
The U.S. Army Manual bans torture, prohibits it. And one of the reasons why is because those who are in the military understand that it jeopardizes the lives of Americans, of American soldiers. How do we demand that the international laws be respected and that if one of our citizens was taken as a prisoner that they not be abused or tortured if it is not the policy of this country to prohibit torture in any shape or form? We need to do better, Mr. Speaker.
I will just conclude by saying that I urge my colleagues to support this bill. We do not have any problem with the rule. But I would also urge my colleagues, once this bill is passed, to join with those in the Senate in a bipartisan way to prohibit torture once and for all. This should not be part of America. We are much better than this. We do not stand for that. And if the White House does not get the massage, we need to force the issue and to send them a bill that in fact has this prohibition in it.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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