Political Quotes

“I thank my dear friend, the former chair and now the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, for his leadership and friendship. I also thank my dear friend from Missouri, Congresswoman Wagner, who has served America in many roles. I thank her for her leadership on today's legislation, a bipartisan piece of legislation that is very timely and important. This legislation provides an update to the Taiwan Assurance Act, which I was proud to support in 2020 to underscore the importance of U.S. support for Taiwan. The key piece of legislation Congress initiated back in 1979 is, as Chairman Meeks indicated, the Taiwan Relations Act. It was passed when I was a young staffer in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and it originated out of that committee. It was designed by Congress to help create unique architecture in the bilateral relationship between the United States and Taiwan. It followed immediately after normalization of relations with the People's Republic of China, and it was designed by Congress to make sure that no military solution would be available in the question of the status of Taiwan. The Taiwan Relations Act was designed to put forth parameters and a roadmap to govern our bilateral relationship. Central to that roadmap is Taiwan's ability to defend itself with support from the United States. That is a promise we made then, and it is a promise we must keep today.…”