Dennis Kucinich: “Congresswoman Nancy Kaptur, co-chair of the Ukranian Caucus, and I have been strong supporters of political freedom in…”

“Congresswoman Nancy Kaptur, co-chair of the Ukranian Caucus, and I have been strong supporters of political freedom in Ukraine and have advanced the cause of Ukranian culture internationally and in the United States. Today we will vote ``present'' on H.R. 1053, a bill to authorize the extension of nondiscriminatory treatment (normal trade relations treatment) to the products of Ukraine. We wish to make clear that this was not a ``no'' vote, but a ``we know'' vote. We know that democracy is on the march in Ukraine. We also know that the conditions for a fully functioning democracy are not in place. We adhere to the principles of a similar bill to life Ukraine from Jackson-Vanik in the 107th Congress, H.R. 3939. However, that bill specified certain conditions be met prior to lifting that reflect the spirit of the law as much as the letter of the law, including that the government of Ukraine-- (1) Adopt and institute policies that remove undue restrictions and harassment on labor organizations to freely associate according to internationally recognized labor rights; (2) Take additional positive steps to transfer places of worship and related religious property for all confessions to their original owners; (3) Establish an independent legal and judicial system with rule of law that is free of political interference and corruption; (4) Commit to providing funding and administrative support for reforms of the legislature; (5) Demonstrate a firm commitment to freedom of…”