Political Quotes

“I rise to speak on the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act that is currently before the Senate. As a cosponsor of Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law and Accountability Act, I am very pleased to see this important human rights legislation move forward, and I want to commend Senators Cardin, McCain, and others who have worked so hard on this bill for getting us to this point. The bill that we are considering today would repeal the so-called Jackson-Vanik amendment with respect to Russia, which my colleagues know tied trade relations to the right of free emigration, and replace it with a tough new law to impose sanctions on Russians deemed to have grossly violated human rights. The bill is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a 37-year-old lawyer who died on November 16, 2009, in Matrosskaya Tishina Prison in Moscow. He was jailed in 2008 after exposing a massive tax fraud by officials of Russia's Interior Ministry. While in jail, he became ill but was denied medical treatment; he was brutally beaten and left to die. This bill is clearly targeted to go after the perpetrators of human rights violations in Russia, including those involved in the death of Sergei Magnitsky, and would require the President name and sanction those individuals, subject to a waiver for national security interests. Those listed by the President could be denied visas to enter the United States and have their assets frozen by the U.S.…”