Eva M. Clayton: “I rose before this committee over a year ago and I now stand before you today, once again to strongly urge a vote…”

“I rose before this committee over a year ago and I now stand before you today, once again to strongly urge a vote against this amendment. The Burton amendment, whether it freezes, cuts, or caps foreign assistance to India, is a step in the wrong direction. The new Government of India is moving at a rapid pace to strengthen its ties with the United States and the world. The economic and diplomatic relationship between the United States, the world's oldest democracy, and India, the world's largest democracy, would receive a harmful blow with successful passage of this amendment. Mr. Chairman, Government of India has been on a constant pace of change since 1991. The 1996 election featured the world's largest voter turnout, practically free of violence. The 1997 election featured the victory of Prime Minister I.K. Gujral, who is of Punjabi descent, the very region that Mr. Burton claims human rights violations are taking place. On the subject of the State of Punjab, the Sikh minority dominated the ruling party in open democratic elections. Voter turnout was 65 percent. Prime Minister Gujral, in his first month of leadership, engaged in direct talks with newly elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan. A hotline phone system was established in a commitment to bring peace to the two nations. So let us as Members of Congress not view the Government of India as being callous to these alleged human rights violations.”