Wendy Sherman: “Mr. Chairman, I rise, not only as a member of the Committee on International Relations, but as a member of the Committee…”

“Mr. Chairman, I rise, not only as a member of the Committee on International Relations, but as a member of the Committee on Financial Services. Just a few weeks ago, I had a chance to tour both NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange. These exchanges are not only the center of American capitalism and the American securities market, they will soon be the unchallenged center for a world capital market. They are critical to the large international oil companies, not just those based in the United States, but those based in Europe and Japan as well. In fact, I think we will soon have a seamless market in which one invests through the two great exchanges of the United States in companies based anywhere in the world. As others have said, it would simply be immoral if this great resource of the United States, our great securities markets, were to be used to raise capital, not just to do business from Sudan, but actually to support the Sudanese government. Because as others have pointed out, this is the source of money for this repressive regime. In fact, this is not just a repressive regime. This is the worst government in the world that benefits from substantial international investment. It is a country that practices a form of genocide and slavery, and that should not taint the American financial markets.”