On the recordJuly 7, 2014
Mr. President, I don't believe that foreign aid should go to countries that persecute Christians. I also don't believe that foreign aid should go to countries that host terrorists within their government. I have had this belief for some time, but I have met with a great deal of resistance in the Senate. Last week, in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I introduced an amendment which said that any country that persecutes Christians by law--Pakistan has a Christian woman named Asia Bibi; she is on death row for the crime, some say, of blasphemy. Others say she never said a word. She is really on death row for being a Christian. She has been there for 5 years. I say Pakistan shouldn't get any American money and that no taxpayer money should go to countries that are persecuting Christians. In the Sudan, another country that receives money from the American taxpayer, Meriam Ibrahim is on death row for the crime of changing religion. She married a man who is a Christian. She is now being detained. She tried to escape recently. She was redetained. The only thing that is consistent about foreign aid is that it continues to flow, regardless of restriction, regardless of window dressing to say, Oh, if a country does this, we will take it back. It never happens. Our foreign aid, our hard-earned American tax dollars continue to flow to these countries, no matter what their behavior is.…
Source
govinfo.gov




