Political Quotes

“I rise today in strong support of efforts to revise our current Iraqi prisoner of war [POW] resettlement policy. It is difficult to imagine that the Government is currently resettling our former enemies--not in prisons--but in neighborhoods across the country. Just think, when the administration was cutting military and veterans' benefits it was, and is presently, providing rent assistance, job placement, medical care, and cash subsidies to our former enemy. It is expected that some 4,600 Iraqis will be admitted into the United States this year alone--costing the American taxpayers $32 million--approximately $7,000 per Iraqi. Section 10 of the ``Iraqi Claims Act'' expresses the sense of the Congress that no former Iraqi POW's should be admitted to the United States except in exceptional circumstances. I support this provision and hope it is adopted by the House. In response to the resettlement of Iraqi POW's in the United States, I personally introduced H.R. 3173 on September 29, 1993, which will prevent our former enemy from immigrating into the United States. I believe that former Iraqi POW's should not be permitted to immigrate to the United States except in extreme cases. But I would like to stress those extreme cases where they have assisted the United States or the United Nations forces during the Persian Gulf conflict and when it can be shown they did not commit or participate in any war crimes.”