Political Quotes

“Mr. President, it is often said that foreign aid from America is to project American power and what America believes in. Unfortunately, over decades, the only thing consistent about foreign aid is that the money continues to flow regardless of the behavior of the recipients. This is extraordinary, and we have seen this decade after decade. Studies will often show that 75 percent of foreign aid throughout many continents is simply stolen, taken in graft. The Mubarak family in Egypt is an example. The point I would like to make today is if we are going to project what America stands for, if we want our money to go to people who are supporting activities that America is for, we should write that into the law. We have made attempts at this in the past. Several years ago Senator Leahy attached an amendment to foreign aid that says that countries need to be evolving towards democracy or showing an ability to go forward towards democracy. The problem is that every time we have restrictions on foreign aid, they are evaded. We always give an out. The President always has an out. This week in Egypt, 683 people were condemned to death in one trial. Yet your money still flows to Egypt without interruption. We have another contingency that says: If a country has a military takeover--if you have an election and then you have a military junta or a military takeover of the government--our aid should end. It didn't happen in Egypt when there was a military takeover.…”