Calvin Dooley: “we all rise today in opposition of religious persecution. There is not one Member of this House that does not abhor the…”

“we all rise today in opposition of religious persecution. There is not one Member of this House that does not abhor the religious persecution that we find all too often, far too frequently in many parts of the world. But I guess where there is a fundamental difference is whether or not we are going to be most effective in turning back religious persecution by taking actions which further isolate some of the countries which are the worst perpetrators of that act. Many of us contend that by engaging both economically, socially and culturally, we are going to be far more effective in ensuring that the citizens of the countries throughout the world will not be subject to the degree of religious persecution that now persists. I rise in opposition to this bill today because I sincerely believe that we will be shutting the door on perhaps the greatest opportunity we have in order to improve the plight of people throughout the various countries of the world. I think when I look at the issues of sanctions, that is what brings me to the greatest concern. Because I think all too often we have seen the implementation of sanctions that in fact have actually worked to the detriment of the very people that we are trying to help.”