Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.J. Res. 74, which terminates the national emergency pertaining to actions and policies that threaten the very tenuous diplomatic progress that we have achieved in Yemen. Active American diplomacy has supported a very fragile U.N.-mediated truce, but lifting the national emergency prematurely would undermine the nascent progress that has been made over the past several years. Sanctions are leverage. If the United States Government unilaterally, and without receiving anything in return, grants amnesty to Yemeni figures seeking to undermine the country's fragile cease-fire, we would potentially be enabling even more conflict. The list of individuals sanctioned under the Yemen executive order is quite short, but let's take a look at some. Mansur al-Sa'adi is a Houthi commander of Yemen's Naval and Coastal Defense Forces. He led attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea and smuggled Iranian weapons to Yemen. Ahmed Ali Saleh is the son of former dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh. President Obama sanctioned Saleh, as he played a critical role in destabilizing the country in 2014 and 2015, and is still seeking to reignite his family's legacy of ruling the country. Now, I could go on, but the individuals currently sanctioned under the Yemen emergency executive order are on the sanctions list for a reason.…”