Bill Delahunt: “this vote is about American credibility. Yesterday a bill was on the calendar which would have prohibited financial…”

“this vote is about American credibility. Yesterday a bill was on the calendar which would have prohibited financial transactions with terrorist countries. It would have passed without debate. Yet China has sold chemical weapons to Iran and missile components to Syria, and what of human rights? Last year Congress enacted the Helms-Burton Act because of human rights abuses in Cuba. Yet when it comes to China we ignore our own State Department report that the human rights situation actually worsened in 1996. Then of course there is trade. We criticize the unfair trade practices of the Japanese, yet according to the last Sunday's L.A. Times, China has developed barriers to United States goods and services that would make the Japanese blush. This vote is fundamentally about American credibility. We cannot demand respect for our values from the rest of the world and set a different standard for China. Please vote yes on the resolution.”