On the recordJune 27, 2017
I have no further speakers, and I yield myself the balance of my time. Let me, first of all, again thank Representative Ros-Lehtinen, who is always working really hard and is on top of issues that are so important. We really appreciate her leadership and everything she does in the committee; Mr. Cicilline, who has fought for LGBT rights; and, of course, my partner on the committee, Chairman Royce. Things like this show the bipartisanship of our committee, which I think is really important. Occasionally we hear talk about Vladimir Putin that implies some sort of moral equivalency between the way he runs Russia and American policies. If you want to know how false that comparison is, take a look at what is happening in Chechnya. Take a look at the violence that Putin's thugs are waging against innocent citizens. That is how Putin regards the rights of his own people. That is what we are here to condemn today. The United States should continue to make advancing and protecting human rights a foreign policy priority, including the rights of LGBT communities. I urge a ``yes'' vote on this measure. I thank Chairman Royce, and I yield back the balance of my time.
