Political Quotes

“Ladies and gentlemen, more than 40 years ago, our colleagues, led by Lee Hamilton, realized that our organization offered a very unique resource to those who still serve our country in this Capitol, on this floor, and in the United States Senate. We could bring the institutional memory and the understanding of a Member of Congress regarding this country's foreign policy decisions that would not be limited or beholden to the idea of focussing on the next election. That is the focus of our congressional study groups. Many of us have often heard the expression, and I think it is attributed to Arthur Vandenberg, that ``politics stops at the water's edge.'' Unfortunately, for too many who serve in Congress, interest and curiosity about our national policies and priorities also ends as the waters lap our shores. We have long felt protected by the oceans that define our hemisphere. For some Members, that has created the luxury of a focus solely on domestic policies. Information, real information, about our neighbors, our allies, and the billions who live outside our Nation comes from gut instinct or old beliefs. FMC decided, those many decades ago now, that this is not acceptable. We created the Congressional Study Group on Germany, which was followed by a group focused on Japan, then one on Europe, and finally, this past year, the Congressional Study Group on Korea, which was received with great fanfare.…”