Political Quotes

“I join with the distinguished majority leader and others in sponsoring this legislation. I must say that although I am not completely comfortable with this legislation, I have agreed to cosponsor it as an alternative to the Dole-Lieberman legislation. The Dole-Lieberman bill would require the President to lift unilaterally the arms embargo against Bosnia and Hercegovina. For reasons I outlined earlier today, and that I discussed together with Chairman Lee Hamilton in a New York Times piece last week, I will oppose that legislation. I favor the majority leader's alternative not as a matter of philosophy, but rather out of expediency. One reason, I am not completely comfortable with this alternative legislation is that it endorses the termination of the arms embargo against Bosnia and it instructs the President to seek the agreement of NATO allies in ending the arms embargo. For me, the jury is still out on whether the United States should seize the lead in seeking a multilateral lifting of the embargo. That issue aside, the resolution comes too close for my comfort in suggesting that the President consider lifting the embargo unilaterally if he cannot achieve a multilateral consensus on this issue. I am pleased, however, that the Mitchell amendment calls upon the President to consult with Congress regarding terminating the embargo unilaterally. To date, the President has held steady in his opposition to unilaterally lifting the embargo. I welcome that decision.”