Political Quotes

“this is a young girl whose arm was cut off that the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall) and I saw while we were in Sierra Leone. The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall) is exactly right, and I want to congratulate him for that. I also want to send a message to the lobbyists who have been hired by some of the powerful firms in this city and in this country, when you lobby for the diamond industry against the bill of the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall), you are, in essence, validating the cutting off of the arm of this young child. Having practiced law in this town for a number of years, I will tell my colleagues the law firms that are being hired will some day be held accountable for what they are doing, because they have within them the ability to bring about the passage of Mr. Hall's legislation and keep the diamonds and the war and the killing to stop, not only in Sierra Leone, but in Angola and in the Congo. I rise today with the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall), my colleague and good friend, to speak in support of this bill to address the trade in blood diamonds. Millions have died in Africa because of the blood shed with regard to diamonds.”