Political Quotes

“Last week our subcommittee held a hearing on the Chinese Government's use of forced labor for the production of all kinds of goods through a concerted program of oppression and coerced assimilation of China's Uyghur population. You have heard the horrible details that we had expressed in our committee. We have had a long history of grappling with the depravity of forced labor and ensuring that goods produced under such conditions do not eventually make their way into our grocery stores and shopping malls across the country. We passed a law a century ago prohibiting importation of such goods. But, unfortunately, the ban--founded on principles of morality, human rights, worker rights, as well principles of fair competition--has, to be charitable, a history of spotty implementation. We don't pretend that it is going to be easy to stop this. Global supply chains now are complex and interrelated. It is going to require the concerted efforts of us all. But we should not allow complex supply chains to justify the chains of oppression on the Uyghur populations now. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the aftermath of the passage of this legislation, that we work to actually implement it, we work with the expressions that have been positive from the private sector and NGOs, and other partners, to make sure that it is real. It is going to require concerted effort. It is going to require some dislocation.…”