Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes to close. I thank my good friend, Mr. Sherman, for his good, bipartisan, strong remarks expressed today during both of these debates on the war crimes tribunal and now on Mr. Fortenberry's genocide resolution, another bipartisan piece of legislation. I want to thank my colleagues for their moving words today. Judge Poe, again, hit the nail right on the head, as did our friend from New York. I think we need to say it and we need to say it with exclamation points, that declaring genocide is a solemn and extremely serious step not to be taken lightly. I am very proud of the work that the Foreign Affairs Committee did. I want to thank our chairman, Ed Royce, and the ranking member, Eliot Engel, for their work on this resolution. All of us understand the seriousness of calling crimes genocide. It represents an assertion that a legal definition has been met and that we are witnessing acts of physical and mental violence intended to destroy a group in whole or in part. The targeted depravity of ISIS against the Yazidis, Christians, and other minorities more--I will say it again--more than meets that definition. But far more than the legality, speaking clearly of genocide, is an appeal to the conscience of the world. It evokes the moral gravity and the imperative of never again. The United States must not wait any longer to find its voice and call these bloody purges what they are: genocide.…”