Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise today in opposition to Rex Tillerson's nomination to be our next Secretary of State. I don't believe Mr. Tillerson is an appropriate selection to be our Nation's chief diplomat. During his confirmation hearing, Mr. Tillerson repeatedly evaded questions related to transparency and corporate responsibility. For instance, on multiple occasions Mr. Tillerson stated that he was unaware of Exxon's history of lobbying Congress; yet, according to lobbying disclosure forms, Exxon lobbied against a variety of Iran and Russia-related sanctions since at least 2010. When pressed on the matter, Mr. Tillerson even claimed he didn't know if Exxon lobbied for or against these energy-related sanctions bills. Additionally, I am troubled by Mr. Tillerson's response to questions about Exxon's dealings with Iran, Syria, and Sudan. According to public documents, Exxon established a joint venture with Shell to conduct business with state sponsors of terror. That joint venture--Infineum-- sold petroleum products to Iran, Sudan, and Syria, when those nations were being sanctioned by the United States. During that time, Mr. Tillerson rose from senior vice president to president and director and eventually to chairman and CEO of Exxon; yet, during his testimony, Mr. Tillerson claimed to be unaware of Infineum's purposeful evasion of sanctions. Instead of recognizing the larger national interest, Mr.…”