AMY GOODMAN: As the Iraqis hunker down for an invasion, the U.S. Congress voted to authorize the attack. Just before the House took its vote, a protester cried out. Congressmember Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, before the vote count, tried to have the resolution sent back to committee. Several congressmembers, like California’s Barbara Lee, supported him.

REP. BARBARA LEE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the motion to recommit. We know that for every action, there is a reaction. We do not know what danger lies before us.

AMY GOODMAN: Congressmember Barbara Lee.

REP. BARBARA LEE: Every American has the right to know what price, in terms of human lives and economic resources, that they will have to pay. We owe them some answers. This is about life or death. We owe them answers to the questions that my colleague from Ohio has raised and will raise and far more. In a democracy, the people have a right to know.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Mr. Speaker, I yield one minute to my colleague and neighbor from Ohio, Representative Sherrod Brown.

SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: Gentlemen is recognized.

REP. SHERROD BROWN: Thank my friend from Cleveland. International Relations Committee, I offer this language embodied in the Kucinich recommittal motion. If we give the president the authority to radically change — to radically change our decades-old military doctrine of containment and deterrence, we need answers to questions the American people are asking. If we strike Iraq on our own, will our coalition against terrorism fracture? Most of our allies in the “war on terror” oppose U.S. unilateral action against Iraq. And what would a unilateral strike tell the world? Does it embolden Russia to attack Georgia to chase down Chechnyan rebels? Does it set an international precedent for China to go into Taiwan or to deal even more harshly with Tibet? Does it embolden India, Pakistan, or both, each with nuclear weapons, from going to war to protect their interest in Kashmir? And if we win a unilateral war, will we be responsible for unilaterally rebuilding Iraq? This Congress should not authorize the use of force unless the administration can detail what it plans to do and how we deal with the consequences of our actions. Vote yes on the recommittal motion.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Mr. Speaker, I yield myself three minutes.

SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: Gentlemen is recognized.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: The resolution, H.J. Res. 114, gives the president the authority to use all necessary force at his discretion. This motion to recommit is neutral on this central point. And I know there are people on both sides of the aisle, on both sides of the proposition before us, who are interested in knowing that, that this resolution does not take a position on the underlying bill.

But with power comes responsibility, and in a democracy, the responsibility is to the people. This motion to recommit would assign the administration with the responsibility to inform the American people on key questions raised by a use of force in Iraq, questions that members on both sides of this proposition have raised.

The American people want to know: What will a use of force in Iraq cost, and how will it be paid for — with budget cuts, with more borrowing, with tax increases? The American people want to know: What financial commitment is the administration making to address humanitarian consequences of a use of force in Iraq? The American people want to know: What impact will the use of force in Iraq have on the economy of the United States and on the important price of oil? The American people want to know how a use of force in Iraq will affect efforts to prevent further terrorist attacks. The American people want to know these things because they know that, ultimately, they will be required to pay the price. They’re entitled to answers. And the motion to recommit ensures that they will get those answers before they get the bill.

Now, Mr. Speaker, as the ranking Democrat on the National Security Subcommittee of Government Oversight, I’ve sat in on several meetings where the Department of Defense inspector general and the General Accounting Office have both informed the Congress that 250,000 biological and chemical protective suits are defective. Two hundred fifty thousand of these suits are defective, but the Department of Defense cannot account for them.

This motion before us would help protect our troops by requiring assurance that the United States armed forces deployed have been provided with functioning equipment to protect against chemical and biological agents in sufficient levels, and that this equipment is not defective. Mr. Speaker, this becomes particularly urgent since the Central Intelligence Agency has just informed the Congress that if the United States invades Iraq, Saddam Hussein can be expected to use whatever biological or chemical weapons he may have. Whatever our position on the war, I’m certain that we want to protect our troops, who would be called upon to put their lives on the line to protect this country. This is an example of the information which the American people have a right to know.

SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: Gentleman has 30 seconds remaining.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: I yield myself the remainder of the time. So, Mr. Speaker, this has been an important debate for our nation. People on both sides of this proposition as to whether or not the United States should pursue action against Iraq are doing the best they can to represent our country. All of us love our country, but our love of country should include our desire to get answers on behalf of our constituents, answers on behalf of those who would be called to serve overseas. So it’s in that spirit that I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and both sides of this proposition to join in support of this motion to recommit with instructions. Thank you.

AMY GOODMAN: Congressmember Kucinich’s amendment to send the war resolution back to committee was defeated. The House voted then overwhelmingly to give George Bush the power to unilaterally invade Iraq.