Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman for yielding. As the chairman points out, do we really want to trample on the property rights of innocent Americans whose properties were illegally stolen by the Cuban regime? The gentleman from South Carolina is correct, the concept is simple, but the concept he doesn't seem to understand is this: it is not about travel to Cuba. This is about protecting American properties that were illegally seized by the Castro government. We are selling out these legitimate property claims to thousands of American citizens. Respect for private property rights, Mr. Chairman, has been a consistent American policy since the founding of our Republic. The Cuban regime illegally confiscated property from American citizens. Our citizens have not been compensated, and we know there is no respect for the rule of law in Cuba. If an American's property has been seized, what does that American do? Well, there is no fair court for recess. Let me tell you what the Inter-American Law Review has noted about the Cuban regime's confiscation of U.S. assets. It says it is the ``largest uncompensated taking of American property by a foreign government in history.'' So this is what this amendment is about. If this amendment to strike the use of confiscated property were to pass, we would be, in essence, allowing and condoning the trafficking of stolen goods. Currently, there are over 8,800 claims certified by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, which is under the U.S.…”