Political Quotes

“I rise in favor of H.R. 1828 and want to commend the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engle) as well as the chairman of the Middle East Subcommittee on International Relations, the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) as well as the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), for pushing this bill forward because it comes at a very important time. And it is true that the time has come to hold the Syrian Government accountable for its role in sponsoring the activities of terrorist organizations. Passage of this bill will send a message that the American people are fed up with the broken promises and unmet obligations of Bashar Assad and his government. Syria has a long-standing history of providing safe haven, refuge, and logistical support to a number of terrorist groups including Hezbollah and Hamas. When innocent people are blown up and killed in Jerusalem, they issue the press releases in Damascus. This must come to an end. President Bush has been resolute as he leads our country and the world in the fight against the terrorists. Under the Bush doctrine, we cannot and will not allow there to be a gap between the state sponsors of terrorism and the terrorists themselves. Closing this gap in Syria is exactly what this bill does. Mr. Speaker, not only must we pass this bill here today, we must also work to persuade some of our European and Arab state allies to take similar action.”