Washington, D.C. - Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma) today, spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in opposition to H.J. Res 114, the Authorization for Military Force Against Iraq. The following is her statement:

“We are at a very important place in the history of our nation and, I believe, a turning point for the future of our world.

“The U.S., as the world’s wealthiest economy, the superpower and leader, is faced with a decision that will truly mark who we are - as Americans, as participants in the world community, and as human beings. Our choice is whether we will use our power to make the future better, or whether we will repeat the mistakes of the past, like World War I or Vietnam, mistakes that do not work, do not solve the problem, do not make the world safer for our children.

“I will vote against the President’s resolution, because I do not believe we are making anyone safer if we alienate our allies; or set a precedent that it is acceptable to preemptively attack another country because we don’t like their leader, or because we think they’re dangerous.

“I will vote against the President’s resolution, because we shouldn’t risk the lives of our sons and daughters and the lives of Iraqi civilians when we have no evidence that our country is in imminent danger.

“I will vote against the President’s resolution, because we must not spend on scarce tax dollars on war when money is so desperately needed here for education, prescription drugs, health care, Social Security and Medicare.

“Americans demand that we fix the economy. Workers want to know what has become of their pensions. Families worry about their health care. Seniors question whether they will ever be able to afford prescription drugs.

“We have no business voting on this resolution while there are so many unresolved issues on the table. What happened to finding Osama bin Laden? What happening to rebuilding Afghanistan, and helping create an Israeli/Palestinian peace? My constituents want us to concentrate on saving Social Security and Medicare. They want us to pass an energy policy that will make us a safer, more secure nation. And, they want us to prosecute corporate criminals and prevent corporate crime.

“I believe we need to work through the United Nations to remove weapons of mass destruction, working multilaterally to address lack of cooperation or aggression that would put the U.S. or our allies in imminent danger.

“I would make certain that our national energy policy ensures that the U.S. is independent from fossil fuels and especially foreign oil.

“Finally, realizing how small our world has become, with communications and transportation making us one big neighborhood, I’d invest what this war will cost - $100-200 billion - in the human infrastructure needs in our country and other nations around the globe. Because in a neighborhood we are only as well off as the least among us…

“It is time in our history to invest in humanity, not destruction; to protect the earth’s environment and the resources we have been given; and it’s time to make a safe and peaceful world for our children - all children around the world - now and forever.

“To that end, I will vote against this resolution, and any resolution that I believe will not make the world a safer and better place.”