Jeremiah Smith: “in closing, I want to respond to a few remarks that have been made. The Sun-Sentinel, in an article entitled ``Why Trade…”

“in closing, I want to respond to a few remarks that have been made. The Sun-Sentinel, in an article entitled ``Why Trade With Such A Deadbeat?'' says: If the U.S. trade embargo is lifted and Castro gets fresh U.S. lines of credit to buy American products that Castro can't and won't repay, it will be the American taxpayer who will then be stuck with the bottom line. Our colleagues should be reminded of the fact we will extend credit, but we will wind up paying for it because Castro will write off the debt and will not bother taking the time and trouble to pay us back. Also, the School of International Studies, University of Miami, points out: Without major internal reforms in Cuba, the Castro Government and the military, not the Cuban people, will be the main beneficiary of lifting of the embargo. I respond to my colleague who made a point of saying Nixon went to China in 1972. Look at China today: forced abortions and some of the worst human rights violations in the history of mankind. There is still a regime in power that represses human rights worse than any regime in history. Let's compare that to Ronald Reagan who stood up to the Soviet Union and said: This is the evil empire, and I will not back down in doing the right thing, which is to keep the pressure on them until they fade away. The differences in history are pretty obvious. It is not that difficult to understand.…”