Tony Hall: “Mr. Speaker, I find it amazing and unfortunate that the real vestige of the cold war thinking is right here in the U.S.…”

“Mr. Speaker, I find it amazing and unfortunate that the real vestige of the cold war thinking is right here in the U.S. Congress. Now that democracy is at the doorstep of nations formerly a part of the Communist block, this bill takes $30 billion steps backward. The American taxpayers want every nation to play a role in the global march toward democracy. The tragedy of this bill, however, is that it will force the United States to go it alone when the world finds itself in crisis. This bill hamstrings the President and undermines his constitutional authority as Commander in Chief. This is just another buzz bill filled with buzz words, cooked up by a Republican pollster to try and make Republicans appear to be responsible in the area of foreign policy. The Devil, however, is always in the details, and this bill is short on details and long on the Devil. If this bill passes, we cannot say, 'The Devil made us do it,' but 'A Republican-led Congress made us do it.' Vote 'no' on the rule and vote 'no' on the bill. In fact, Mr. Speaker, this bill could be dubbed the 'Terminator' since it will wipe out all supranational options for the United States when peace and democracy are in danger.”