Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of S. 793, as amended. Mr. Speaker, the OAS remains the premier regional forum for the countries of the Americas to conduct multilateral business, an important aspect of U.S. relations with its neighbors. The bill before us today seeks to support the organization, particularly with respect to democracy promotion and the protection of human rights. The version we are poised to pass today in the House adds an important provision to the bipartisan Senate bill introduced by the Senator from New Jersey, Bob Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This new provision requires the State Department to examine ways to ensure that in the future no OAS member state pays more than 50 percent of the regular budget. Currently, based on a legacy fee structure from a different era, the U.S. does pay more than 50 percent, with a series of distorting results. A modernized OAS would benefit from a more egalitarian fee structure. The new provision asks State to lay out a roadmap to achieve such a fee structure, and hopefully opens up the conversation with our fellow member states in the OAS in the spirit of consensus and partnership. I would like to thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for working, truly, again, as we have done and seen time and time again on the Foreign Affairs Committee, really working in a bipartisan manner on this bill.…”