William Helms: “I am advised that a Senator on the other side who does not wish this amendment to pass, despite the clamor for it by…”

“I am advised that a Senator on the other side who does not wish this amendment to pass, despite the clamor for it by Cuban people everywhere--and we have millions of Cubans in this country--I understand that the distinguished Senator is going to raise a point of order claiming that this amendment is legislation on an appropriations bill. Well, la-di-da. We legislate regularly on every appropriations bill. The Appropriations Committee itself reports out legislation on just about every appropriations bill. But let it be known, if such a point of order is raised, it is a ruse to do nothing about Fidel Castro in Cuba. Anybody voting to support that point of order will be voting to do nothing about Fidel Castro. True enough, sooner or later, we will get to it in the normal process of the Foreign Relations Committee, of which I am the Chairman. But I do not want to delay one more day for the removal of Fidel Castro from Cuba. He is a tyrant, a Communist tyrant who has been so cruel in his treatment of his own people. So I wish to forewarn Senators that any point of order based on this amendment's being legislation on an appropriations bill is nothing but a ruse. You cannot get to it any other way, so you are going to try to get it defeated on a point of order. I hope that the Senate will not buy that turkey because it is not justified.”