[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 71 (Thursday, April 27, 2023)] [House] [Pages H2056-H2069] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-27
Chamber: HOUSE
Mr. JAMES: I think this is what we call a violent agreement. We need to fix the ills of the past with a solution for the future. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. McCormick). Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, this is one of my favorite debates. In my short time in Congress, and even in observing Congress, here you have people from both sides of the aisle actually taking opposition to each other so we can have a real conversation. There are people that I respect on my side of the aisle and people that I respect and disagree with on the other side of the aisle having a real debate that has little to do with partisanship but really about principle. It is refreshing. Much like H.R. 21, which was probably the most fascinating vote we have taken to date since I have been in Congress, we actually had a Republican, somebody whose credentials as a conservative are not questioned at all, who had more people from the Democratic Party vote for his bill than from the Republican Party. He had the squad vote for him and his bill. That is bipartisanship in a certain way. Yet, we have this debate right now in a similar fashion on Somalia. This is not a place that is unknown to me. I was there during part of the U.N. withdrawal in 1994 off the coast on the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit. I spent time in Entebbe, Uganda, as part of Operation Restore Hope when we had our problem with Rwanda. Africa is a place of many troubled nations. There is no doubt about it. The question we have today is: What is good for America? This isn't about nation-building. This is about protecting our Nation. This is a debate over whether we are going to save lives or lose lives that are American by what our actions are in the near future; and into the future of how we plan our force structure and what we deploy with around the world. I am very much concerned that if we are not in these regions, especially in Somalia, which is one of the most war-torn areas we know of, that we will have an increase in terrorist activities. When you see a country like Afghanistan and the way it is deteriorating right now-- you have 27 terrorist cells training there--because of the lack of presence of good guys trying to make sure that bad guys don't propagate and proliferate and making sure they are not recruiting people and sending people over here to do harm to us, it is a minor miracle that we haven't had another 9/11 in so long. If you think about it, the incredible work that we have had done by our intel community and our Special Forces and other Americans around the world to circumvent that from happening is nothing short of Herculean. I would make the case that because we have forces all around the world, we have been a safer place. We have saved American lives. This isn't about building a nation of 17 million people. This is about protecting the Nation of 330 million people. I want to make sure that we are clear in this argument that this is not about seeking war. No one who spent time in the military wants war. I spent over 20 years in the military myself. I spent years away from my family, as well. I served with three different forces: Marine Corps, Army, and Navy. Nobody wants war less than I do.  Nobody wants to see Americans killed more than any military commander. As a matter of fact, when we send these people, it is not because a politician wants to go over there. Usually it is because a general or an area commander has requested these troops in collaboration with each other. We are talking about decades of experience in the region, and they understand what is at stake. They don't want war. They don't want American troops to lose their lives. As a matter of fact, they are judged historically on how many American lives they save, on how many American troops that they don't put in harm's way. This isn't about seeking war. This is about avoiding war. This isn't about protecting their nation. It is protecting our Nation. We have an obligation to watch over this great Nation of ours. I think it is not by pulling back, but engaging in other countries in a way we can work together to protect American lives, both civilian and military.