Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today once again with my friend and colleague from Kentucky, Senator McConnell, to introduce a joint resolution to renew the import ban on Burma for another year. We are proud to be joined by Senators McCain and Durbin in this important effort. Congressman Joe Crowley and Congressman Peter King have introduced this resolution in the House and I thank them for their leadership and support. Over the past year, we have seen some remarkable changes in Burma after years of violence and repression. But the government of Burma still has a lot of work to do to demonstrate to us, the international community, and, above all, the people of Burma that it is truly committed to reform, democratization, and national reconciliation. We should renew this ban for another year as an incentive to the government of Burma to continue on the path it has undertaken and take additional actions. I have been involved in the struggle for freedom and democracy in Burma for 15 years. In 1997, former Senator William Cohen and I authored legislation requiring the President to ban new U.S. investment in Burma if he determined that the government of Burma had physically harmed, re- arrested or exiled Aung San Suu Kyi or committed large-scale repression or violence against the democratic opposition. President Clinton issued the ban in a 1997 Executive Order.…”