21st Century Peace Through Strength Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCAUL. 8038.

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Mr. McCAUL. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Chair, the most serious matters that any committee deals with are matters of war and peace. It is those votes that are the most consequential votes of your career.

This is one of those moments. As Secretary Pompeo and General Keane recently wrote in a letter to Congress: `` . . . we write at a pivotal moment in our Nation's history to applaud your efforts to secure vital support to America's allies and to strengthen America's defenses.''

They know that the world is on fire, from Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine; to Chairman Xi threatening Taiwan and the Pacific; to the Ayatollah rearing his ugly head, invading Israel through his proxies.

The eyes of the world are upon us, and history will judge us by what we do here and now.

I thank Speaker Johnson, who has been under enormous pressure. He has said he wants to be on the right side of history, and with this vote today, he absolutely is. He put the interests of the Nation above himself. He is truly a profile in courage.

President Reagan taught us that peace is achieved through strength, and that is what this bill is about. It is about providing the deterrence so we don't have another war as we did during my father's generation, and that is why I titled it, ``The 21st Century Peace Through Strength Act.''

This bill includes my REPO Act that allows the transfer of frozen Russian sovereign assets in the United States so that Putin pays for the war he started. This is not just morally the right thing to do, it is also the fiscally responsible thing to do on behalf of the American taxpayer. Let Putin pay for it.

That is why President Trump's former economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, supports this provision.

This bill also protects Americans, especially our children, from the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party-controlled TikTok. This app is a spy balloon in Americans' phones. It is a modern-day Trojan horse of the CCP used to surveil and exploit Americans' personal information.

This bill also includes the most comprehensive sanctions against Iran that Congress has ever passed, including sanctions on exports of Iranian energy. China has bought $80 billion worth of energy from Iran. Madam Chair, that is money that Iran is using to fund terror operations like the ones that we saw last weekend. This bill also imposes sanctions on anyone involved in Iran's drone and missile program.

Think about this, Madam Chair: Iran makes the drones and the missiles that are bought by Russia to kill Ukrainians. As we saw last Saturday, Iran is also manufacturing these drones, with Russia's support, to kill Israelis. This must be stopped.

As Reagan said: ``When it comes to keeping America strong, when it comes to keeping America great, when it comes to keeping America at peace, then none of us can afford to be simply a Democrat or a Republican. We must all stand united as Americans.''

Once again today, we need to speak with one voice, as one Nation, especially when addressing our adversaries, for Putin is watching us, Chairman Xi is watching us, and the Ayatollah is watching us.

Now is the time to act.

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Mr. McCAUL. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

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Mr. McCAUL. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Kean), the chairman of the Europe Subcommittee.

Mr. KEAN of New Jersey. Madam Chair, I thank my good friend, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, for yielding me time and for his steadfast leadership.

Madam Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 8038, the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act.

As someone who grew up during the Cold War, I recall when President Reagan quoted and displayed the philosophy of ``peace through strength.''

Europe is facing the largest war on the Continent since World War II. The Middle East is volatile, and every day, the CCP prepares itself for its ultimate goal of invading Taiwan. In the fields of Ukraine, every day in which aid is delayed means more territory for Putin, and it further emboldens Xi and the Ayatollah in Iran.

This is not the time for the United States to back down. In order to preserve peace in the world, we must seize the moment and project strength.

Madam Chair, I urge passage of this bill and the entire foreign aid package.

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Mr. McCAUL. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lawler), a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

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Mr. McCAUL. Madam Chair, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from New York.

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Mr. McCAUL. Madam Chair, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. McCAUL. Madam Chair, in the late 1930s, Winston Churchill described what he saw as the gathering storm, the forces of Hitler and the axis of evil threatening freedom and democracy.

I recall when Mr. Meeks and I were on the border between Poland and Ukraine watching thousands of mothers and their children fleeing their own country in fear after the invasion. The Poles told us: This is just like 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland.

Today, we are at a similar inflection point in history. The fall of Afghanistan sent a powerfully dangerous message to our adversaries that America was weak. Almost immediately after, the Russian Federation began moving toward Ukraine.

Once Chairman Xi met with Putin at the Olympics and cemented their unholy alliance, they invaded. Chairman Xi has become more aggressive in the Pacific; and mark my words, Xi is watching what happens in Ukraine to determine whether he invades Taiwan in the Pacific.

Then the Ayatollah raised his ugly head in the Middle East. Last Saturday, the world watched as Iran for the first time in history invaded Israel, sending 300 missiles and drones to kill innocent Israelis.

These dictators, including North Korea, are all tied together. They are all tied together. We cannot separate them. We don't pick and choose our enemies; they choose us.

My father served as a bombardier in World War II. He was part of the Greatest Generation. I recently took my son to the air base in England where my father was stationed. While there, we visited the church where my father prayed, not knowing if he would live or die.

I took my son to the national cemetery for the U.S. airmen who never made it home, and I pointed to the 4,000 crosses and said: Son, those are the ones who did not make it home. In the chapel there is inscribed on the ceiling:

In honor of the airmen who on their last flight met the face of God.

Met the face of God.

It was a moving experience, father and son, teaching my son, like my father taught me, about the importance of patriotism and the cost of freedom. It was also a reminder of the dangers that we face today, for today like then, it could have been prevented. Deterrence is the key.

As Churchill wrote in his book, ``The Gathering Storm:''

``One day, President Roosevelt told me that he was asking publicly for suggestions about what the war should be called. I said at once, `The Unnecessary War.' ''

Think about that, the unnecessary war. He said: ``There never was a war more easy to stop than that which has just wrecked what was left of the world from the previous struggle.''

I often think about the blood and treasure that could have been saved from my father's generation had we simply stopped Hitler earlier. Now we are faced with a similar opportunity.

As Ronald Reagan told us: ``We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong, but when they are weak.''

He was right. Our adversaries are working together to undermine our Western values and demean our democracy. We cannot be afraid at this moment in time. We cannot be afraid of our shadows. We must be strong. We have to do what is right. Evil is on the march.

History is calling, and now is the time to act, for the world is watching. Our adversaries are watching us here today, and history will judge us all by our actions here today and now.

As we deliberate on this vote, you have to ask yourself the question: Am I Chamberlain or am I Churchill?

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. McCAUL. Madam Chair, I support this amendment. I believe it will greatly enhance the Department of Defense's China Military Power Report by increasing our understanding of China's critical and emerging technology sector, which is a central feature of the great power competition that we have with China.

I thank the gentleman for bringing this amendment.

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Mr. McCAUL. Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman from Iowa for this amendment, and I support this amendment. It enhances congressional oversight as he talked about. Under Article I, we have a responsibility over restricted Iranian assets and accounts, including those in Qatar and Iraq.

For too long, this administration has not been transparent with the Congress and the American people about sanctions and the like in reporting that to Congress, so I think this is a good step forward.

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Mr. McCAUL. Madam Chair, I move that the Committee do now rise.

The motion was agreed to.

Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Ms. Foxx) having assumed the chair, Mr. Moylan Chair of the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, reported that that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 8038) to authorize the President to impose certain sanctions with respect to Russia and Iran, and for other purposes, had come to no resolution thereon.

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