Transcripts of one minute speeches given on the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, February 6, 2007 during the introduction of H.R.808, the bill for a Department of Peace and Nonviolence, in the 110th Congress.

One Minute Speeches on the Floor of the House on Tuesday, February 6, 2007

(Hon. Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas: Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my strong support for H.R. 808, as it would create a U.S. Department of Peace

The importance of peace in the world today is often overlooked due to the severity of constant conflict, but, as a mother and lawmaker, the reality of war concerns me for the future of our Nation and this planet. The promotion of peace, not violence, should be number one on our agenda

For years, I have worked to raise awareness in the women within our society, and around the world, so that they can spread the word of peace and build a culture of peace in this world.

Women in themselves are a powerful entity, and I believe by working together we as a society can stop the escalation of violence. We can prevail by joining together and building a U.S. Department of Peace. War is not the way, but peace is.

I am proud to support this resolution, creating a U.S. Department of Peace and urge my colleagues' support.

(Hon. Ms. BARBARA LEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)

Ms. LEE: Mr. Speaker, it is time to make a real commitment to the peace that we want to see in the world. That is exactly what H.R. 808, introduced by Congressman Kucinich, with 52 cosponsors, would do by creating the Department of Peace.

We are now spending $8 billion each month on the occupation of Iraq. Imagine if a small portion of that money was invested, instead, in conflict resolution, diplomacy, weapons reduction, and human rights. As the drum beats of war against Iran are now heard, imagine if the debate included not only the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense, but a Secretary of Peace. Guaranteed the military option would be taken off the table and our world would not be led again into another useless, senseless war.

Imagine if we were to direct a small portion of the $583 billion Pentagon budget to promoting nonviolence here at home by investing in efforts to stop domestic violence, gun violence, child abuse, gang violence, violence in schools, hate crimes, racial violence, religious intolerance and the mistreatment of the elderly.

Dr. King said that peace is not just the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice. This isn't something we should just hope for, but we must work for it.

(Hon. Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, yesterday a bill was introduced into the House of Representatives that gives the promise of transforming our country and the world. H.R. 808 creates a Department of Peace and Nonviolence. It is now supported by 52 Members of the House of Representatives, and it is supported by groups who yesterday came to Washington representing 45 States. Last night, nearly 1,000 people came to the George Washington University campus to hear about the Department of Peace and the hope that it brings for America.

Mr. Speaker, if you were to look at this clerk's desk, just around the corner you will see engraved right into the desk of the clerk of the House of Representatives the word ``peace.'' Peace is a foundational principle of this Congress and of this country, and the bill gives it a chance to have an animating power in our civic life by addressing the issues of domestic violence, spousal abuse, child abuse, violence in the schools, racial violence, all of those concerns we have both domestically and internationally.

Peace.

SPEECH OF HON. MAZIE K. HIRONO OF HAWAIIIN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2007

Ms. HIRONO: Madam Speaker, I strongly support H.R. 808, establishing the Department of Peace and Nonviolence.
At a time when we are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on the war in Iraq, which the majority of the American public no longer supports, there is a growing call for a diplomatic and political, in other words, a peaceful resolution to this conflict.

The establishment of the Department of Peace and Nonviolence, with its emphasis on education and dispute resolution through peaceful means, sends a clear message to our citizens and to the rest of the world that our country recognizes and values the peaceful resolution of conflicts and differences and that these methods should be emphasized to resolve conflicts at both the individual and national levels.

The Department of Peace is not a new idea. My esteemed and highly respected predecessor from the State of Hawaii, first Representative and then Senator Spark M. Matsunaga, proposed a similar institution 30 years ago as the Vietnam war waged on. After three decades of unresolved conflicts, worsening international relations, and seemingly endless wars around the world, the time has come to bring this great idea to life.

I fully support H.R. 808.

SPEECH OF HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.OF MICHIGANIN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2007

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, America needs a Department of Peace in order to have a peace-making capacity to match its war-making capacity. America should rely on preventive diplomacy, not on preventive war. We should work within the framework of international law, not defy it.
My first campaign for Congress, following the teaching of Dr. King, was based on "jobs, peace and justice." That remains my priority agenda. So I am proud to be an original cosponsor of H.R. 808, Representative KUCINICH's bill to establish a Department of Peace and Non-Violence.

At a time when the world is awash in war, he and Marianne Williamson, founder of the Peace Alliance, offer this modern vision of healing and preventing violence. It could not be more timely. According to all reports, the Bush administration is debating whether to attack Iran or to find peaceful ways to deal with its nuclear program and its intervention in Iraq. The prospect of President Bush starting a "pre-emptive war" with Iran, on top of the tragedy in Iraq, is frightening. If that is not a compelling argument for creating a Peace Department, then I do not know what is.

We attacked Iraq because President Bush would not pursue peace and let U.N. inspectors complete their work. Instead, he distorted intelligence and failed to foresee the terrible consequences of that war. We must not repeat those mistakes in Iran, or anywhere else.

Last night, I spoke to an overflowing crowd that supports this measure and I told them what I tell my colleagues now. The best way to stop the war in Iraq is for the Congress to end our fighting there as soon as possible, and the best way to prevent wars with Iran and other adversarial nations is to establish a Department of Peace. We need a Cabinet Secretary focused like a laser on how to keep peace with Iran and constantly pressing the President to choose that strategy.

President Bush has already spent some $2 trillion on the war in Iraq. Just think what we could have done with $2 trillion spent on health care and education. That is another strong reason for the Department of Peace. A small fraction of that amount could also have funded a robust, proactive Department of Peace to analyze looming conflicts and to advise the President on how to diffuse them without war.

The most crucial point is what happens when the President and his top advisors confer in the Oval Office about an international crisis. We need a Cabinet member at that table who will forcefully and persistently advocate the peaceful options. Too often, the phrase "search for peace" is simply a political sound bite. President Bush assured us he was searching for peace, and that attacking Iraq was his ``last resort,'' while he secretly plotted war. We need to ensure that war really is America's last resort.

Some of my colleagues may find this proposal interesting but feel they must deal with "more pressing matters." What is more pressing than preventing the violent deaths of our Gl's and of our fellow human beings everywhere?

Some colleagues may think a Department of Peace is being offered as a substitute for our Armed Forces. That is not true. We realize that sometimes force proves necessary to protect our truly vital interests. A Peace Department would complement the Pentagon, not replace it, but a Peace Department would make war as rare as possible.

I remind those cynical about the absolute priority of pursuing machinery for peace that Gandhi, Dr. King and Nelson Mandela, who each pioneered paths of peace and non-violence, are now hailed worldwide as heroes of humanity.

SPEECH OF HON. JOHN LEWIS OF GEORGIA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2007

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia:  Madam Speaker, I rise today to support the establishment of a Department of Peace and Nonviolence as a cabinet-level office of the executive branch of our government. I agree with Representative Kucinich that war and the threat of war have dominated international relationships for much too long. As a participant in the Civil Rights Movement, as a human being who has faced the barrel of a loaded gun armed only with the philosophy of peace, it has been my belief for many years that war is obsolete as a tool of our foreign policy. But I realize that position may be too progressive for many of my colleagues to accept.

But maybe, just maybe at this moment in our nation's history, when we find ourselves struggling with the hopeless legacy of violence, maybe, just maybe we might be willing to consider the methods of peace as an intelligent, strategic alternative to war. At this very moment our sons and daughters are battling in the middle of an unnecessary war, a war we started, hoping that we could force democracy to grow.

But Mahatma Gandhi once said that violence begets violence. And a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace, Martin Luther King, Jr., once said if we as a people want peaceful ends, we must use peaceful means. When will the warring factions in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and the United States be willing to say they have spilled enough innocent blood? When will they say it is time for us to lay down the tools and instruments of war? Today, can we hear the words of Gandhi, perhaps stronger now than ever before, ``We must choose non-violence or non-existence''?

Are we finally willing to hear the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., "We must learn to live as brothers and sisters or perish as fools"? Can we, the most powerful nation in the world, use our influence, to raise these questions and give peace a chance?

Madam Speaker, as a nation and as a people we have researched, written about, studied, constructed, deployed and spent trillions of dollars on the best ways to destroy humanity. We have used the power of fear to dominate world affairs. What would happen if the most powerful nation on earth took the lead and through this Department of Peace decided to put even half of those resources toward developing ways to sustain humanity, ways to keep the peace in spite of competing international interests, and ways to gain influence using the power of diplomacy and negotiation?

Without constructive, alternative policies, without viable tools that leaders of nations and leaders of human kind can reach for, peace will always be a vanishing ideal that holds no substance. If we truly believe that peace is our ultimate goal, then we must use the resources of this great nation to that end. We must use the brilliance of American intelligence to develop the methods and mechanisms of peace, even more actively than we develop the mechanisms of war. That's why we need a Peace Academy that will create a diplomatic corps armed with the tools of peaceful influence.

We are all one people, Madam Speaker. We are one family, the human family, and we must find a way to understand each other, to make peace, and learn to live together.