Federal News Service - News Conference on Hearing with Sec. Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers and Resolution

Federal News Service May 6, 2004 Thursday

Copyright 2004 The Federal News Service, Inc.
Federal News Service

May 6, 2004 Thursday

HEADLINE: NEWS CONFERENCE

SUBJECTS: TOMORROW'S HEARING WITH SECRETARY RUMSFELD AND GENERAL MYERS; RESOLUTION; CALL BY REP. PELOSI FOR RESIGNATION OF DEFENSE SECRETARY RUMSFELD

PARTICIPANTS: HOUSE MINORITY LEADER NANCY PELOSI (D-CA); REPRESENTATIVE IKE SKELTON (D-MO); REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER (D-MD)

LOCATION: HOUSE RADIO-TV GALLERY, WASHINGTON, D,C.

BODY:

REP. PELOSI: Good afternoon. Steny is-Congressman Hoyer is doing the colloquy on the floor right now. He'll be up momentarily. I'm looking at the TV, seeing the colloquy going on. But Congressman Hoyer will be joining us momentarily. At this time, however, I am very pleased to be joined by the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. We wanted to have a few words with you about the resolution on the floor today, but even bigger than that, the issue that we were discussing.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

REP. HOYER: Thank you, Leader. I apologize for being late. I was, as you know --

REP. PELOSI: We saw you. (Laughter.)

REP. HOYER: -- doing the colloquy with Mr. DeLay.

This is not about process, this is about substance. And the substance is that if we have a united effort to speak to our troops and speak to the world, we have a more powerful voice. It seems to me that we have a responsibility in this House and in the Senate and between the executive and the legislative departments to work together to create that unanimous voice.

The good news on the floor today is that we had a unanimous voice that expressed outrage at the conduct of some few which besmirches the good works of so many. I voted against this resolution as an expression of regret that it did not deal with the specific abuses which undermine the credibility of our country, without distracting with other unrelated, but important, issues.******* Matching of next tape 050607CH.XZ of our country, without distracting with other unrelated but important issues. I offered a substitute, a motion to instruct, with instructions, or a motion to recommit to the committee with instructions, which would have reported in on the-to the committee with certain changes, and it would have come, as you know, immediately back.

The rule was designed, on this very important issue, to essentially preclude the expression of alternative opinions. How ironic it is that as we continue to talk about democracy in Iraq, we undermine it here at home.

Nevertheless, the leader and I stand united on the fact that we exprss our outrage with all other members of the House about the criminal acts that have occurred.

The resolution that passed speaks of violations by those in the armed forceds. It does not speak to those in the civilian sectfor, those who are on contract, who have been retained by our government to carry out certain functions. It ought to.

It does not speak to asking for full bipartisan hearings and investigaitons, as I'm sure the leadaer has expressed. It ought to.

It did not, unfortunately, result from a bipartisan working. I want to comment briefly. Mr. Skelton has been here. You heard from Mr. Skelton. There was the appearance of working to attain a bipartisan agreement without the reality of doing so. That is regrettable-not regrettable for Democrats, not regrettable for the leader and I, but regrettable for our country.

Thank you very much.

REP. PELOSI: Thank you all very much.

Q Can I ask a quick question? ******* Matching of next tape 050608AT.XZ ought to be under public control and supervision. And I think that answer to that is clearly we did not contemplate it.

Q Do you agree with

I offered a substitute, a motion to instruct, with instructions, or a motion to recommit to the committee with instructions, which would have reported in on the-to the committee with certain changes. And it would have come, as you know, immediately back.

The rule was designed, on this very important issue, to essentially preclude the expression of alternative opinions. How ironic it is that as we continue to talk about democracy in Iraq, we undermine it here at home.

Nevertheless, the leader and I stand united on the fact that we express our outrage with all other members of the House about the criminal acts that have occurred.

The resolution that passed speaks of violations by those in the armed forces. It does not speak to those in the civilian sector, those who are on contract, who have been retained by our government to carry out certain functions. It ought to.

It does not speak to asking for full bipartisan hearings and investigations, as I'm sure the leader has expressed. It ought to.

It did not, unfortunately, result from a bipartisan working. I want to comment briefly. Mr. Skelton has been here. You heard from Mr. Skelton. There was the appearance of working to attain a bipartisan agreement without the reality of doing so. That is regrettable-not regrettable for Democrats, not regrettable for the leader and I, but regrettable for our country.

Thank you very much.

REP. PELOSI: Thank you all very much.

Q Can I ask a quick question with regard to contractors? Did you envision, when you were voting for appropriations bills for -- (inaudible) -- when the appropriations bills were coming up, the kind of work that contractors would be doing, the interrogation work and security work, the breadth of all of that? Did you envision having contractors armed, thousands of them, et cetera, doing interrogations, any of that?

REP. HOYER: No. I don't think anybody in the committee believed that we were appropriating money to hire mercenaries.

Now when I say that, I don't mean that they are-there are a lot of good people, I'm sure, who are in that position. I don't know that to be the case.

But these public responsibilities ought to be under public control and supervision. And I think the answer to that is clearly we did not contemplate it.

Q Do you agree with Ms. Pelosi that a top (federal official ?) should resign?

REP. HOYER: I have not reached that conclusion. But what I do believe is very important is that we determine the responsibility and where it lays. One of the things that greatly concerns me is the creation of an atmosphere in which we dehumanize the opposition, in this case the enemy, if you will. But these are Iraqis, after all. We went to free and liberate Iraq. Now, I don't know whether these were combatants. They have not been able to make their case. I am concerned about this is a different type of encounter, war, if you will, in which we are engaged, and these are not POWs in the traditional sense of the word. In fact, they're no longer, in many cases, called POWs, they're called detainees, so that different legal considerations apparently attach. I am not an expert on that.

But I am very concerned that we have those folks being treated in a way by, yes, those in the military, but also those not in the military, not subject to military direction, perhaps, or order, but yet the military will bear the brunt of the criticism that exists.

Thank you very much.

Q Thank you.

END