Political Quotes

“I rise today in solid support of this legislation and with deep thanks to the leadership on both sides of the aisle for their work on this issue. This is a critically important piece of legislation, not just for the people of Ukraine but for the people of the world. As a founder and cochair of the Ukrainian Rada-U.S. Congress relationship, this has been our number one priority for a number of years. But going back in my own career as a mayor and former county commissioner, I can recall each January that, with hundreds of my Ukrainian-American constituents, we would assemble and light candles. We would light candles for those people who are being oppressed by the Soviet regime. In working with groups like the National Council of Soviet Jewry, we would make visits into the Soviet Union and go to those homes where people were being oppressed. We understood in a real way the oppression that was being brought by the Soviet leadership. And those candles that we lit each January were to show our solidarity with the Ukrainian people, that one day they would achieve independence and one day they would achieve the full equal respect of our country. In the early nineties they achieved their independence. Today they receive the full respect of America and its people, because today we grant them equal status as a trading partner. Ukraine has been working hard to achieve the basic foundation of democracy.…”