William Helms: “in the rush to end sanctions, I find it incredible that some of our colleagues appear willing to forgive and forget the…”

“in the rush to end sanctions, I find it incredible that some of our colleagues appear willing to forgive and forget the conduct of regimes like those in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Cuba, Sudan, and North Korea. The inescapable impression is that they are willing--I hope unwittingly--to cast aside U.S. laws designed to ensure that U.S. taxpayers' money will not be sent to regimes that proliferate weapons of mass destruction, or smuggle drugs over our borders, or promote acts of terrorism around the world. More disheartening is an apparent willingness to abandon the Cuban people to the brutality of Fidel Castro. Mr. President, I am pleased that the Majority Leader has taken the initiative to create the Sanctions Task Force, of which I am a member. That bipartisan group has been tasked with studying sanctions in a deliberate process and produce recommendations for the consideration of the Senate. Rather than wait for that careful review, Senator Dodd has offered an amendment today that would have the effect of undermining existing sanctions on rogue states.”