Political Quotes

“Mr. President, tomorrow this body will vote to advance legislation that will grant permanent normal trade relations with Russia and, in so doing, repeal the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik sanctions that denied most-favored nation status to China. As part of this comprehensive package, the Senate will also pass the so-called Magnitsky bill. This piece of legislation was inspired by a young Russian attorney, Sergei Magnitsky, who died in police custody in 2009 after he was jailed on trumped-up charges for exposing a vast web of corruption and tax fraud by some of Russia's most senior officials. Sergei's story, extensively reported and documented by human rights activists, business leaders, journalists, and others, helped stir a bipartisan group of Senators led by our colleague Senator Ben Cardin to draft legislation to hold accountable officials from all over the world who disregard basic human rights and fail to uphold the rule of law, including those responsible for the murder of Sergei Magnitsky. Unfortunately, the legislation before us is deficient. While I do not intend to make perfection the enemy of the good, this bill falls short of the longstanding objective of this body to demonstrate a sustained commitment to the long tradition of U.S. leadership in the fight against corruption and human rights abuses around the world. Regrettably, the House-passed bill deals only with Russian officials. Sergei Magnitsky's story could have been lost.…”