John Cornyn: “I want to talk about something that is all too rare, and that is bipartisan support for an important piece of…”

“I want to talk about something that is all too rare, and that is bipartisan support for an important piece of legislation that not only fulfills America's commitments to our ally, Taiwan, under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, but it helps stabilize a critical region of the world--that would be in Asia--and particularly the growing tensions between Taiwan and China. It also creates jobs in America by facilitating foreign military sales of things made here in America, by Americans, that we are going to sell to people in other countries--our friends in other countries--for cash and doesn't cost taxpayers a penny. My amendment No. 1200 is pending before the Senate, and I was pleased in introducing this amendment to be joined by several of my colleagues on a bipartisan basis: Senator Menendez from New Jersey, Senator Inhofe from Oklahoma, Senator Lieberman from Connecticut, Senator Wyden from Oregon, and Senator Blumenthal from Connecticut. This amendment is straightforward and simple. It would require the President to carry out the sale of 66 F-16C/D aircraft to Taiwan. These are American-made fighters our Democratic ally in Taiwan has been trying to purchase since 2007. As I said earlier, this is a win-win amendment. It reflects the right national security policy, and it is good for the American economy and jobs. We know Taiwan's Air Force continues to deteriorate.…”