Dan Kildee: “I thank my friend, Mr. Engel, the chairman, for his leadership on this issue, and my friends Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. McCaul…”

“I thank my friend, Mr. Engel, the chairman, for his leadership on this issue, and my friends Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Wilson, and, obviously, Mr. McGovern, who have been working on this with me, along with Congresswoman Bass. Congress cannot sit idly by while one nation kills its own people, blocks all communication to the outside world, and commits serious human rights violations. The people of Sudan, like all people, deserve the ability to determine their own future. They deserve a civilian-led democratic society. They deserve to not have to live in constant fear of violence. It is for these reasons that we offer this resolution to affirm the position of the United States Congress, despite views that we may differ on, on other matters, and that we come together, Democrats and Republicans, across the political spectrum to denounce the trampling of human rights that is taking place in Sudan, to call on the Transitional Military Council to immediately stop any violence against those civilian protestors, and to begin the immediate transition to a civilian-led government. The Sudanese people have a right to be free. They have a right to a democratic society. They have a right to not have to deal with the kind of oppression that they have experienced. This resolution also lays out some very clear areas where Sudan simply has to improve if it wants to have a productive relationship with the U.S. I believe that the U.S.…”