Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the en bloc amendment which includes my amendment to prevent funding for the proposed Commission on Unalienable Rights at the Department of State which has been proposed by Secretary Pompeo in order to promote natural law and natural rights. Now, I would wholeheartedly support a concerted focus on human rights by this administration. Instead of any really coordinated human rights policy, this President and the Secretary of State have cozied up to dictators and made excuses for flagrant human rights violations, even by some of our supposed allies. No, unfortunately, it is clear that this proposed commission is an attempt by the administration to co-opt American policy on human rights to give preference to an ideology that has been associated with discrimination against marginalized communities, including the LGBT community, women, and religious minorities. The State Department already has an entire bureau--the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor--dedicated to defending human rights, yet the Secretary is proposing to bypass the official structure of the diplomatic corps to create an ideologically motivated commission, without congressional approval or oversight, to promote natural rights based on natural law. These terms have no legal meaning and have deep associations with homophobic and discriminatory movements.…”