Eliot Engel: “But this bill is mixing apples with oranges. The Mexico City language, the whole controversy over abortion, does not…”

“But this bill is mixing apples with oranges. The Mexico City language, the whole controversy over abortion, does not belong in this bill. It sullies the bill and takes away from the bill. As far as I am concerned, it is really improperly in the bill. It is an embarrassment that our country is the biggest deadbeat in the world of the United Nations. For the United Nations to function, we say that we are the leaders of the world, and we are the leaders of the world. We want to have influence on the world. We want to have influence. We encourage countries to turn to free market economies. We encourage countries to turn to democracy. Then what do we do? We do not pay our U.N. dues. So we owe a billion dollars. Then when we want to try to attempt to pay our dues, we attach it to abortion language and Mexico City language and other language to placate the lobby, the pro-life lobby. But, in reality, it does not make any sense to put it in this bill. If we want to build an international coalition against Saddam Hussein, if we want to build a coalition to march forward into democracy, then we really should not act irresponsibly.”