Political Quotes

“we find ourselves in a rather unfortunate situation. This is the most cynical kind of public policy-making that I have ever witnessed. I cannot understand for the life of me why the Haitians would have been left out from consideration. As I understand, the Immigration and Naturalization Service reports that, as of September 30, 1996, applications for asylum were pending for about 18,000 Haitians, 21,000 Nicaraguans, 118,000 Guatemalans, and 191,000 Salvadorans. How can they just drop the Haitians? It does not make good sense, and then they place it on the D.C. appropriations, where we are desperate to try and get a little justice for the District of Columbia, and they pit people against each other in the most unfair way. There is no rational reason for it. They should not put the gentlewoman from Florida [Mrs. Meek] in the position of standing up here asking for a no vote on the rule for the District of Columbia, when they know how desperate the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia [Ms. Norton] is. As a matter of fact, if they had any decency at all, they would pull this rule from the floor and go back and put the Haitians in. These Haitians were promised. I have got letters here from Haitians whose parents were killed right before their eyes. They are seeking asylum because they were under political massacre from the Haitians down there. And my colleagues would stand here and allow this situation to develop. This is unconscionable. It is unreasonable.”