Political Quotes

“Thank you for holding this very important Special Order. Way back in the Florida Legislature, when I was a member of the Cuban Caucus, so proud to be a member of the Cuban Caucus, I started speaking out against the Castro brothers' brand of oppression. Over the past 5 years, I joined with all of you to decry Alan Gross' arrest. I am thankful for his recent release. Alan Gross' freedom was long overdue, we all agree. I am glad he is safely on U.S. soil, but a large injustice remains: the plights of Cuban citizens, who have suffered for over five decades under the Castro regime in search of basic human rights and political freedoms that we as Americans, frankly, take for granted. Then, almost out of nowhere, the Obama administration decides to normalize relations with Cuba. This will allow American dollars to the rescue of the Castro brothers at a critical time. Their normal economic benefactors--Russia and Venezuela--cannot afford to help. Now, more than ever, economic sanctions can be used as an effective tool to force the Castro regime to afford basic human rights and political freedoms to all of Cuba's citizens. Scholars have noted that normalizing our economic policy with oppressive countries, like China or Vietnam, have produced no significant improvements in human rights treatment. Given the precedent, there is no reason to believe the situation with Cuba will yield significant different results.…”