Charles Rangel: “I appreciate what was pointed out by the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee). I have no idea why the gentleman from…”

“I appreciate what was pointed out by the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee). I have no idea why the gentleman from Florida would refer to the victim of this atrocity that was committed in Cuba as being black. I do not see what that adds to the discussion as to whether or not as a free country we should not continue to respect international trade. I think that is what we are trying to do. We are trying to say the best way to get after dictators is to make certain that we have communication between nations. The best way to have people to understand what democracy is all about is to demonstrate what democracy is about by allowing Americans to go where they want to go when they want to go, to allow Americans to send money to whomever they want to send money to in Cuba. I truly believe all of the things that have been said, we would all agree. I believe that Saddam Hussein was a terrible man; but I do not believe we had a right to have a preemptive strike against a country. What we are trying to talk about is the value of trade, the value of countries communicating with each other. Who is being penalized? No embargo works when only one country is perpetrating the embargo. If all of the countries in the world are trading with Cuba, the best we do is lose money and restrict ourselves from showing that when it comes to competition, quality goods, farm goods, that America is the best.…”