Political Quotes

“I thank my dear friend and the chairman and the entire House Foreign Affairs Committee for knowing the importance of this. I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 272. With this resolution, we are reaffirming, as a House, as an institution of the U.S. Government, our unwavering commitment to bring Paul Whelan home. Paul has been wrongfully imprisoned in Russia for more than 4 years. He is a native Michigander. Representative Stevens and I now share him. He is my constituent, but he has got two women you don't want to tick off and are not going to stop until we bring him home. His parents are my constituents and our entire Michigan delegation-- we don't put a party in front of it--stands united in this effort. His imprisonment continues to be an affront to due process, international law, and human rights. We have witnessed increasingly bold and reckless action by Russia in wrongfully detaining American citizens. This is unjust, it is unconscionable, and it is unacceptable. Our people are not political pawns. We must pursue every avenue to secure his immediate release, and I will work with everyone here and throughout our government to make that happen. Paul needs hope. I hope he sees all of us today. His family desperately needs hope. This House of Representatives needs to send a strong message to the Russians that Paul is not a pawn in international relations, and we all want him home.…”