Political Quotes

“Russian oil and gas is absolutely financing Putin's horrific war of aggression. I am for this bill, but there are provisions in this one in particular that should not be in here. Mr. Speaker, I am the prime sponsor of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act which we added to the 2017 NDAA. Under the act, an actionable offense occurs only when there is a gross violation of internationally recognized human rights which has the meaning given to it in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Specifically, the Foreign Assistance Act includes torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, prolonged detention without charges and trial, causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction and clandestine detention of those persons, and other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or the security of person. H.R. 6968, however, radically strikes and replaces the current definition of what constitutes an actionable offense with language that is not defined--and this being done tonight without the benefit of hearings or due diligence. Under the new language, the President may impose sanctions on an individual if responsible for or complicit in or has directly or indirectly engaged in what they call serious human rights abuse. Exactly what does that mean? There is no definition. How is that phrase defined? How elastic is it, especially when it is not linked to any international treaty or covenant? What does directly engaged mean?…”