John Kerry: “the amendment that I have sent to the desk commences what I and other Senators believe is a very important discussion…”

“the amendment that I have sent to the desk commences what I and other Senators believe is a very important discussion for the U.S. Senate. This amendment seeks to address the question of our current relationship with Vietnam and the embargo that is currently in place pending judgments about the accounting of our prisoners of war. Mr. President, I know this is a sensitive issue, as does the Senator from Arizona. We bring it to the floor with the utmost sensitivity and with a great deal of consideration. We believe very deeply in one simple concept: That if we urge the President of the United States, as this amendment seeks to do, to expeditiously lift the embargo against Vietnam, we will do a better, faster and more thorough job of providing answers to our families and to our veterans about POW-MIA. We do not offer this amendment to pick a fight with anyone. We do not do it with any disrespect to anybody. To the contrary. I think it is fair to say we do it with the utmost respect, particularly to the families who have carried with them deep questions for 20-plus years about what happened to loved ones who were lost in Vietnam.”