Daniel Inouye: “I realize that standing and speaking in opposition would be condemned by some of my colleagues and my constituents. I…”

“I realize that standing and speaking in opposition would be condemned by some of my colleagues and my constituents. I also realize that my chairman will rise to table this amendment at the appropriate time. But I believe that something has to be said as to why some of us oppose this amendment. Mr. President, we are blessed to be able to live in a great country. We just celebrated the 222nd anniversary of our birth. We have had a very illustrious and a glorious history. Yet, there are many chapters in our history that we would prefer not to discuss; we would prefer to just pass them over. The countries that we are speaking up against in Southeast Asia and Asia do not have a 222-year history. Yes, they may have been in existence for 4,000 or 5,000 years, but keep in mind that most of these countries have been under the yoke of some European power until just recently. Indonesia, until the end of World War II, was under the control, and therefore a colony of, Holland. China has been controlled by various countries. The Japanese have been there; the British have been there; the French, the Russians--and Americans. North Korea had been under the control of the Japanese up until World War II. The Philippines was our colony until the end of the war. Our country is blessed with resources--all of the minerals that we need, all of the chemicals we need to make us the No. 1 high-tech country in the world, the most powerful military country in the world.”