Alcee Hastings: “Reclaiming my time, I just suggest not only as pertains to India but elsewhere around the world, and I do not accuse the…”

“Reclaiming my time, I just suggest not only as pertains to India but elsewhere around the world, and I do not accuse the gentleman from Indiana of being arrogant, but very often we start because of our parochial or personal political considerations to point fingers at others. We would almost be in a position of not being able to do any business anywhere in the world if we were to just identify human rights violations as the only link that we must have considered before we do business. We are getting ready to do MFN China, we do business with Russia, we do business all over this world. With Nigeria we have on one decertification link; Pakistan, we do not on another and I have not even reached South America. I could go on and on. I have been involved in working with India for the past, oh, 7, 8, or 9 years now and the beginning of that relationship was because of the great work that was being done there as well as here in trying to combat the rising tide of international terrorism. But in that process, I have learned a lot about India and I have watched the development of a relationship between the United States and India which has changed and grown and become far greater in terms of the strength and importance to the United States not only as a trading partner with India but also from a strategic and national security standpoint.”