Enhanced Partnership With Pakistan Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SMITH of Washington. I rise in support of this legislation.

I want to thank Chairman Berman and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen for their hard work in crafting this compromise and getting a bill that the House and Senate can agree on.

We need to strengthen our relationship with Pakistan. This is a very, very difficult part of the world, and this is a very, very difficult relationship. But none of that overcomes the basic fact that we need a strong relationship with Pakistan for our own national security interests. The threat is real, as has been described by a large number of my colleagues. The threat from Islamic extremism, through al Qaeda and other groups, comes from this region in large part through al Qaeda, in large part through the Taliban, and threatens us.

To defeat that, we need partners in the region. We need a partner in Afghanistan. We need a partner in Pakistan. And the good news is Pakistan is taking steps in the right direction. As has been mentioned, they have stepped up and confronted the violent extremists that threatened them and pushed back against them. They are working with us to train their forces in counterinsurgency tactics so they can better do this, and they have also taken the first basic steps in getting a lasting democracy in place. This has been a lengthy challenge for them as they have dealt with governance and economic issues, but they have made progress.

They need our help to build on that progress, because if they cannot provide a decent government, a decent governance, it makes it all too easy for the violent extremists to prey on their failures and recruit Pakistanis to their cause. With our support, they can build a better economy. They can build the basics of government to provide for their people. Without it, they're going have a very, very difficult time accomplishing that task. That will be a threat to the region and that will be a threat to us.

This bill shows a commitment from the United States to a long-term relationship. For too long, the Pakistanis have felt that we only used them for our own interests and then walked away and have been reluctant to embrace us, reluctant in some ways to confront the Taliban for fear that we will not be there to help them when it is truly needed.

This bill shows the long-term commitment to the partnership that we must have with a Pakistani Government that seems increasingly willing to have that partnership.

I urge support for this legislation.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remaining time.

First, I would like to just pick up on the theme the gentleman from Washington just stated. This truly is a bill that is in the interests of the American people and the Pakistani people. That's why we're talking about authorizing these kinds of funds.

I can assure you, in the context of a failed state, in the context of a victory by the insurgency in Pakistan, the sum total of this bill is peanuts compared to the costs to America and to the rest of the world in terms of international instability and conflict and war.

We've come a long way on this legislation. I think we've built a broad base of support on a bipartisan basis and with both Houses.

I particularly want to thank some key people on my staff who have worked on this legislation: Jasmeet Ahuja and Daniel Silverberg, as well as the other staff members, David Abramowitz and others who have worked so hard, and on the minority side, Yleem Poblete. And to Jamie McCormick and the others, thank you for all your cooperation and help to get to this point.

I yield back the balance of my time.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 1707.

The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.

A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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