Date: 2011-07-13
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I wish to raise concerns this morning that are international and domestic. I rise today to ask the question. when will Dr. Assad. the President of Syria. begin to act in a manner that respects the human dignity of the people of Syria. It is a tragedy to watch as the Arab Spring continues in many countries that I have visited and to see one country that one had hoped would realize that a civilized government respects the dignity of its people. Syrian Americans are crying out and reaching out to Members of Congress and leaders across the Nation to attack this horrific violence that is occurring in Syria: The mutilation of a 13yearold boy. the slaughter of individuals in the street. and. seemingly. the absolute arrogance of the President of this Nation. Many of us have thought that Dr. Assad. the son of the former president. would recognize that the 21st century does not in any way tolerate the kind of abusive and oppressive leadership that has occurred in the past and that it is high time for the leadership to be vested in the people. Now. we know that there has been a constant tension and brutality as it relates to Israel and the border and Hezbollah. something that has to be addressed. and I have cried out over and over that the dominance of Hezbollah and Syria must cease as well for any entity that does not recognize the existence of any other State. no matter what the State. and in this instanceIsrael. it is an absolute abomination. But now. in American vernacular. they have added insult to injury. killing their people. blood in the streets. ignoring the international calls. So I am gratified for the stance that we have taken. and I want it to be a stronger stance. a stronger position. How dare you attack the United States Embassy. How dare you violate international law that allows sovereign nations to exist peacefully among themselves. How dare you confront the United States flag by means of the United States military. How dare you violate the human dignity of your people. And so Im calling upon world leaders. the United Nations and all of those who have the responsibility of protecting the human rights of all people to denounce the actions of President Assad. denounce the actions of those violent and abusive people in the streets who are killing their own people. and listen to Syrian Americans who have asked for a peaceful resolution. No. we are not calling for war despite the tragedies in Yemen where the president refuses to step down. the conflicts in Libya where the president refuses to step down. the difficulties in Egypt and on and on and on. But as for the people of that region. we should take heart in America that they have attempted to create a democratic community and a nation of states. The Arab League needs to speak. And we need to denounce the President of Syria and ask him to step down. That leads me to Americas role. Madam Speaker. in this crisis that has now been made by our Republican friends. To my colleagues. America is not broke. Were not in the same posture as some of our European friends. But we are in a ridiculous posture because theres no way in the world that families who are trying to make ends meet dont also attempt to seek revenuesa new job or a raise or multiple jobs. How many of our families are doing that? No. we are not raising taxes on the middle class. We are. in fact. trying to establish a quality of life for the middle class in protecting Social Security. Medicaid and Medicare. Dont laugh at those. Those are infrastructures that have allowed senior citizens to live. It has allowed our hospitals to stay open and our doctors to work. And yet we have. in the other body. an individual who has a ludicrous and absolutely absurd proposal thats not going to give anybody relieflet the President of the United States sign off on the debt ceiling. We havent even tested whether that is constitutional. In fact. we dont know if the debt ceiling itself is constitutional. And so Im arguing and begging for leaders of consciousness to sit down and work on behalf of the American people. raise the debt ceiling and stop the foolishness.