Congressional Record—House H3909
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June 6, 2000 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð HOUSE H3909 We need to stop that, really, and we here, stood and delivered the State of that control the economy. To say that need to start allowing schools to focus the Union address and rallied America it all happened according to a plan is on what they believe to be important to spend more and more on our defense. to dangerously rewrite history. While I talk about the Reagan ad- locally. b 2100 f ministration and the collapse of the He never told us it was offense. He Soviet Union, it leads naturally to a VARIOUS ISSUES OF THE DAY said it was necessary to prevent Soviet discussion of Star Wars, an issue that The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. expansion, not some secret plan to is still before us. Just because the So- WALDEN of Oregon). Under the Speak- force the Soviet Union into collapse. viet Union is no longer intact does not er's announced policy of January 6, Ronald Reagan came before the Amer- mean that we are safe. In fact, the 1999, the gentleman from California ican people and told us the Soviet world is more complicated and more (Mr. SHERMAN) is recognized for 60 min- Union was a powerful threat and would dangerous. There are those who have utes. remain so for quite some time. He come before this House and suggested Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, a few urged us to embark upon military ex- that the world does not have to be a minutes ago I became aware that this penditure projects, some of which dangerous place if only we developed a hour of time to speak before this House would last a decade or 2 decades be- missile defense system. was available. I thought about it for a cause, he told us, the Soviet Union was Now, Mr. Speaker, I would like to see moment. I am confident that my pres- a threat. Now, those who claim to be us continue to research in this area, ence here will not adversely affect the Ronald Reagan's ideological descend- and when our technology has advanced ratings of other cable television shows, ants, some who claim to be his friends, to the point where we can provide some many of which are made in our area. tell us it was all a lie, that Ronald reasonable defense at reasonable cost, And so I figured I would take this op- Reagan knew that the Soviet Union deployment is certainly called for. But portunity even though I have not had had corroded from the inside, that he let us not fool the American people. the chance to prepare and my remarks knew that these expenditures were not Those that cannot hit us with an may not be quite as crisp as I would necessary to defend us but rather were ICBM, those who cannot hit us with an like. part of a secret plan to force the Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile will I would like to address a number of Union to spend more and more on its be able to smuggle nuclear weapons different topics that I have been think- defense in a dangerous game in which into our cities no matter how effective ing about, particularly over this last the Soviet Union would be faced either our missile shield. A nuclear weapon is district work period. The first is an odd with the prospect of launching a nu- about the size of a person, some small- attempt by those who claim to love clear strike or consenting to an arms er than a child. And anyone who has Ronald Reagan to rewrite the history race that it could not win, an arms been in Southern California or prob- of the fall of the Soviet Union. race launched against it by a Reagan ably just about any major city in this We know what the real history was. administration with a secret plan to country is aware that every year hun- The Soviet Union looked powerful. We drive it into destruction. Ronald dreds of thousands, every day thou- spent on our defense, fearful of Soviet Reagan never told us that we were en- sands of illegal immigrants are snuck aggression and expansion, and Ronald gaged in such an effort. Ronald Reagan Reagan led us in those efforts. across our border not just from the Our deficit grew. We tightened our never told us that we were trying to southern border but the northern as belts domestically. We did so because push the Soviet Union to destruction, well; that illegal drugs are smuggled we were told that the Soviet Union that they would face a moment at into America with relative ease, and could expand, that it was powerful, which they would blame us and would this is by people being paid a few hun- that it could emerge as the most pow- realize that either they would launch a dred dollars to sneak a person into the erful nation on Earth. military strike or go into the dustbin United States, marijuana importers or In 1991, to the surprise of just about of history. smugglers, criminals bringing in bales everyone both inside and outside the He never told us this, because he of marijuana for a few thousand dollars Soviet Union, the Soviet Union began never believed it; and the Soviet Union in compensation. to collapse. That is what really hap- in its dying hours did not believe it, ei- How difficult would it be to sneak a pened. ther. The Soviets knew that their sys- nuclear weapon into an American city? It is kind of disconcerting to think tem collapsed of its own weight. Only A nuclear weapon smaller than a child that all the experts in all the capitals retroactive American arrogance would does not need ventilation, does not did not foresee such an enormously im- say that the other superpower col- need to be fed. Children who are smug- portant event. And experts are reluc- lapsed because of something we did gled into America scream and cry. Nu- tant to admit that they cannot always here in Washington, D.C. clear weapons would not. So imagine see the future. But what is worse is The fact of the matter is Communism that we had a perfect defense against that those who have come to idolize does not work, and in the last decade Iranian or Iraqi or North Korean mis- Ronald Reagan have started to rewrite or two, both Communist giants have siles. What would those countries do? history. ceased to embrace their ideology; and They would smuggle a weapon or two In their rewriting of history, Ronald without that ideology they have ceased into an American city, hire or kidnap Reagan foresaw as early as the early to be exporters of Communism, ceased an American scientist to come look at 1980s that, within a decade, the Soviet to have confidence in Communism, and it, detain that American scientist until Union could be pushed into the dust it has shaken them to their roots. Are it could be moved to another apart- bin of history, that Reagan knew that we going to say that Communism lost ment or another city, and inform our the Soviet Union had begun to corrode favor in the Soviet Union because of government that in some apartment, in from the inside and far from being a American hostility and Communist some city, in some State in this coun- challenge to the United States, in fact, ideology lost favor in China because of try, there was a nuclear weapon in the it was a nation that could not survive. American friendship? That either custody of someone reporting to Bagh- These supposed supporters of Ronald friendship or hostility from America dad or to Tehran. Reagan ascribe to him an omniscience creates the same result? I think not. I would like to see a defensive shield and all-knowingness, that they think is Communism does not work. Russia and shielding us from intercontinental bal- complimentary. China realized it. This forced a crisis of listic missiles. But let us not fool the In fact, what these supporters of confidence in both places. The Soviet American people. That is just one Reagan are doing are besmirching Ron- Union not being one nation but rather small element of our defense. And if we ald Reagan's character, attacking his an amalgam of nations held together spend a trillion dollars building a roof honesty, and telling us that our former by a failed ideology collapsed, and over a building that has no walls, we President is a liar to the American peo- China has moved from the ideology of will have been misallocating resources. ple. Communism to the ideology of nation- I am not sure that we can police our Time and again, President Reagan alism overseen by a relatively small borders well enough to prevent nuclear came before us in this hall, I was not group of oligarchs and local potentates weapons from being smuggled here, but VerDate 01-JUN-2000 05:36 Jun 07, 2000 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\K06JN7.093 pfrm06 PsN: H06PT1 H3910 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð HOUSE June 6, 2000 I do know that a missile defense shield Iran has said, well, we need help in the World Bank. The U.S. voted is of only modest use as long as our stopping these ships. All Iran has to do against that loan, but we certainly did borders remain porous.