Political Quotes

“I rise to speak today with respect to a development which has occurred by an act of omission rather than commission on the part of the Secretary of State. As the President I am sure is aware, for approximately 10 years American citizens have had passport restrictions which have prevented them from being able to travel to the country of Lebanon. The way the process works is, at various intervals--most recently at 6-month intervals--this ``travel ban,'' as it is referred to, was back before the Secretary of State for renewal, and it has continued to be renewed for additional 6-month periods for quite some time. The 6-month period expired as of the 1st of August. This Secretary of State decided, after much consideration of the merits of these issues, not to extend the travel ban further. I want to rise today--I have had a chance to be on the floor in morning business prior to this--to both commend the Secretary of State for her difficult situation and to applaud her courage in making this decision. This was a very controversial issue.”