Political Quotes

“I thank Senator Cardin and Senator Corker for how diligently they have worked over the course of the last several months, as both of them have stated on the floor, to make this sale much more palatable and to address many of the concerns that both the chairman and the ranking member had about the nature of the sale and this long history of conflict with the Pakistanis when it comes to our mutual concern of confronting terrorism. The reason I come to the floor is because this body historically has had a history of deep engagement on questions of major arms sales, especially in regions as dangerous and as complicated as the Middle East. As it stands today, virtually the only two Members who are deeply and meaningfully engaged in the question of attaching conditions to these very important arms sales are the ranking member and the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. I trust their ability to hold the administration's feet to the fire--whether it be the Pakistanis', the Saudis', the Emirates' feet to the fire as they request weapons from the United States, but this body writ large has to get back into the game of providing meaningful oversight on a radical and significant increase in the amount of arms sales the United States is providing to the rest of the world. From 2011 to 2015, our arms exports have increased by 27 percent.…”