Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my amendment--a very simple amendment. My amendment seeks to restore congressional notification requirements on a category of munitions export licenses. For decades, when a U.S. company wanted to export these munitions, the sale required authorization from the Federal Government. The State Department has the responsibility for issuing approvals for most types of weapons once it has assessed any impact on our national security or our foreign policy. The State Department was also required to notify Congress every time it approved a license. Unfortunately, the Trump administration changed all of this. It moved the licensing of firearms export sales from the State Department to the Department of Commerce, and it changed the standard review process. They also ended the congressional notification process. The Department of Commerce is not currently required to notify Congress when they issue a munitions export license. I strongly opposed those changes. Given the serious national security implications of foreign munitions sales and the possibility that those weapons could end up in the wrong hands, Congress has a clear policy interest in understanding when they occur. This amendment will restore those notification requirements by mandating that the Department of Commerce follow the same procedure and guidelines that was in place prior to that change.…”