David Obey: “As someone who was here during the El Salvador debate, not as a Member, but as a staffer, I saw firsthand how Congress…”

“As someone who was here during the El Salvador debate, not as a Member, but as a staffer, I saw firsthand how Congress trivialized the human rights issue with the passage of the so-called El Salvador certification language. The words in the certification amendments were always strong, always talked very passionately about human rights; but what we saw was that each time the certification was up for review, the Presidents who were in the White House routinely approved that language. One of the reasons why, I think, was because we were so much involved in that conflict in El Salvador. I would support this amendment if, in fact, there were not so many waivers and there were not so many escape hatches. I would support this amendment if it truly meant what I think the proponents of this amendment wanted it to mean, and that is a serious statement in defense of human rights in Colombia. The fact of the matter is, there is nothing preventing a future President, whoever that President will be next year, from basically ignoring everything in this amendment. If we are serious about human rights, let us put teeth in this amendment. I oppose this amendment.”