Political Quotes

“the resolution I have just asked for the discharge of would disapprove the administration's sale of precision-guided munitions to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia--weapons they have used in the killing of an untold number of innocent civilians in their ongoing campaign in Yemen. This resolution is 1 of 22 that I have filed with a bipartisan group of Senators in response to the administration's flagrant disregard for congressional oversight over arms sales. On May 24, the Secretary of State attempted to bypass this body in order to push through 22 separate arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, claiming an ill-defined emergency regarding Iran. Now, while Iran is a threat to the interests of the United States and the Middle East, I think no one in this body has been stronger on our sanctions efforts and in other legislation that I have been the architect of on sanctioning Iran. The question before us is whether these arms sales are specifically meant to be a response to that. These arms sales are a critical national security tool in terms of reviewing and approving them as a core function of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. We are responsible for considering how each proposed sale fits into the broader foreign policy goals and our national security interests, including the capacity and interoperability of our partners.…”