Political Quotes

“while I salute the intention of the authors of this legislation, I rise to strongly oppose this bill, freighted as it is with unintended consequences. This legislation would put our foreign policy and our trade policy on auto pilot to be dictated by an unelected bureaucrat in the bowels of the State Department. It would insert America into a surprising range of domestic policy disputes in Muslim nations where Shihites suppress Shunites, or vice versa, in Germany, in France, in Greece, in Turkey, Mexico, even in Egypt and Israel. But most importantly, Mr. Chairman, if we are to pursue the dubious course of using clumsy, unilateral trade sanctions indiscriminately to change the domestic policies of our trading partners, why is it that under this bill we would restrict our ability to export to offending nations but not their ability to export to the United States? This bill would increase our trade deficit. And in the end, the only human rights that this legislation is certain to affect is the right of many American workers to earn a living. Vote it down. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 3806, the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act. Like every American, I am committed to continued U.S. leadership on religious freedom. But, I am deeply concerned that this bill--however well intentioned--could backfire badly.”