Richard Gephardt: “I rise today in strong support of this Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. I believe that Chairman Obey and his…”

“I rise today in strong support of this Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. I believe that Chairman Obey and his colleagues on the committee have crafted a good bill--a bill that advances the cause of freedom and democracy, and recognizes that in today's global economy, some of our most important foreign policies must be economic and trade policies. This bill is especially important because it dedicates our resources and our resolve to two of the most important emerging democracies on the face of this earth, Russia and South Africa. Both nations are working desperately to promote political and economic reform. They need our help. And with this bill, we can make sure they get it. That's why I'm surprised that the Callahan and Burton amendments would dramatically slash our assistance to both nations. To do so would be a dangerous mistake. Consider Russia. Some of you may remember, at the height of the Cold War, our debates over single weapons systems that cost more than the entire aid package we are offering today. Well, the Cold War is over. And now that Russia is inching toward the kind of security and stability that we paid trillions to achieve in decades past, how can we turn our backs in this hour of need? How can we ignore the risk that extremism and deprivation will turn back the hands of time, and bury the progress that cost us countless dollars and lives?”