Political Quotes

“Madam President, reserving the right to object, I share Senator Shelby's and other colleagues' strong desire to ensure that this small group of Americans who suffered such violence at the hands of FARC is compensated for their ordeal. Earlier this week, at the behest of Senator Nelson and others, I met with some of those former hostages. I heard of their suffering firsthand. I have read about it. I have talked to them. I cannot imagine what they went through. While the victims have already received a portion of the compensation awarded them by Federal courts--around $16 million so far--out of a total of $318 million awarded, they still have a long way to go. The administration, including the Treasury Department, which overseas our efforts to combat the narcotics trafficking that is having such a devastating impact on our country and others around the world, has expressed serious concerns that the CAPTIVE Act would undermine our successful anti-narcotics efforts. I want to help these victims. It is terrible what happened to them. They were trying to serve our country--they were serving our country when this happened. But I have serious concerns about this legislation written in this way, how it would undermine successful anti-narcotics efforts.…”