Political Quotes

“I would just like to say, before we do that, that for those who say that parliamentarians should not be involved in meeting with other parliamentarians, and I think the gentleman did a good job earlier today when he gave a 1-minute on this issue, that this administration is constantly encouraging Members of Congress to engage their counterparts around the world. In fact, we have programs that do that. I got involved with Russia long before I was in Congress when a U.S. funded program, called the American Council of Young Political Leaders, encouraged me as a county commissioner to travel to Russia because my party thought that one day I might serve in Congress. Now, little did I realize that a couple of decades ago those early trips to Russia would result in me traveling to Russia some 19 times where I would host literally hundreds if not thousands of Russian leaders when they come to America and where I would have the opportunity, working with our friend and colleague, who is, by the way, watching these proceedings tonight, a former Member, Greg Laughlin, and starting 8 years ago a Russian-American Energy Caucus to try to find ways to bring hard currency into Russia so they would not have to sell off their nuclear technology or their conventional weapons. The administration back then was supportive of our efforts. They were supportive of our efforts to help solve environmental problems, the nuclear waste problem up in the Arctic Ocean, out in the Sea of Japan.”