Earl Pomeroy: “As the preceding speaker, the majority whip indicated, this is not really about Russia, it is about Cuba. How I wish we…”

“As the preceding speaker, the majority whip indicated, this is not really about Russia, it is about Cuba. How I wish we could have an opportunity to discuss the full range of issues about Cuba, because the majority whip has stood singularly to stop this floor from the consideration of overturning the outdated, ineffective sanctions on the sale of food and medicine to Cuba, and he will not even let that proposal come up as proposed by the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Nethercutt) for full consideration of the House. So that part of the Cuba question never comes to the floor. It is only this part, the piling-on part, the continuing of the outdated sanctions part, all inconsistent with this theme, that comes to the floor for consideration. As to the issue before us, it is very, very bad business. Last week we marked up a foreign operations appropriations bill. The fact of the matter is we know that extension of taxpayer aid to other countries is at an all-time low relative to the size of our economy, at least in the context of recent history. So we have to have private economic opportunity flowing across the world and in the global marketplace. It will be a critical part of bringing developing countries along. If any action by this Congress would push Russia into defaulting upon its debt, the ramifications would be felt far beyond Russia.”