Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I want to thank other Members of this body. In less than a week, 72 Members, Members representing the House and the Senate, have joined me in the campaign to free Amir Hekmati from prison in Iran, joined the Free Amir Campaign. This has been a strong bipartisan effort. We know there's not a lot that's happening in this House right now that happens on a bipartisan basis, but this is something that Members of the House on both sides of the aisle, and all Americans, can join together to do, take a tangible step to help free my constituent who is being held in an Iranian prison on false charges. Every day, Americans are speaking up because it's something that they can actually do to make a difference through the social media, through Twitter. Thousands of tweets calling on Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to release Amir Hekmati have gone out while President Rouhani is in New York at the U.N. General Assembly; and we know that the Iranian Government monitors social media, participates in social media, so we know that the message is getting through to them. It's a powerful tool, and one that all Americans can engage in to help with this important cause. I was sent here to fight for my constituents, to work on their behalf, and that includes Amir Hekmati. Amir is a former U.S. Marine who served his country well, and went to visit his family in Iran. He is of Iranian descent, born and raised here in the U.S., a constituent of mine in Flint, Michigan.…”