Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this measure. I want to thank Chairman Royce and Mr. Yoho of Florida for their hard work on the bill. Mr. Speaker, under current law, there are only two ways off the State Sponsors of Terrorism list. The first is a fundamental change in the leadership and policies of a country's government. The other is if the President certifies to Congress that a government has not provided any support for international terrorism for at least 6 months, and that the country has provided assurances that it will not support international terrorism in the future. This legislation would stretch that 6-month period to 2 years. It would also double the length of time Congress has to review such a certification, from 45 days to 90 days. Now, Mr. Speaker, I don't think we are going to find ourselves in a situation in which any of the countries currently on that list would need to be rushed off, particularly Syria and Iran. But our job as legislators is not just to look at what is in front of us as we draft a law, but to consider what unintended consequences we might face down the road. As I said when we marked up this bill in June at the committee, I do think we need to carefully consider the implications of extending the waiting period so dramatically.…”