India and Honduras

Floor Speech

INDIA AND HONDURAS -- (Senate - July 09, 2009)

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, today I would like to address America's policies toward two nations. Each of these nations has strong democratic institutions. Each of these nations is a key trading partner of the United States. And each of these nations offers even more potential for cooperation in the future--if the administration makes the right choices going forward. These two nations are India and Honduras.

First, I would like to discuss America's relationship with India. India is the world's largest democracy--and one of the world's largest and most dynamic economies. During this decade, India and the United States have cooperated more closely than ever before. America is now India's largest trading and investment partner. Last year Congress authorized a new era in civil nuclear cooperation between our two countries--which I was proud to support. India has joined the United States and many nations in supporting the people of Afghanistan. India has committed more than $1.2 billion to reconstruction efforts there. Our nations work closely together to fight terrorists--especially since the devastating attacks in Mumbai last year. And since 2004, India and the United States have built a strategic partnership--based on our common values--and committed to expanding opportunities in education, energy, and beyond.

As cochairman of the Senate's India Caucus, I strongly support closer ties with our strategic partner in South Asia. Yesterday, several of my colleagues and I had breakfast with Secretary Clinton at the State Department. I am pleased that she sees India as a top priority for our Nation's diplomatic engagement. I appreciate her determination to strengthen our strategic partnership with India in security, trade, and many other issues. I wished her well in her visit to India in the coming weeks.

I also took the opportunity to bend the Secretary's ear on the subject of Honduras. Honduras and the United States have been good friends and neighbors for many years. We are trade partners through the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Our two peoples cherish our independence and liberty--and have helped others claim their freedom. Honduras joined the United States as one of the first contributors to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Most of all, the people of Honduras and the United States respect the democratic institutions we have built--and we honor the rule of law.

Honoring the rule of law means that no one is above the law--including the President. In Honduras, the President is limited to a single term in office. Their Constitution--like the U.S. Constitution--places strict limits on the executive power. These limits are important to the Honduran people because of the history of authoritarian rule in their country--including periods of military dictatorship.

Unfortunately, President Zelaya was not happy with the limits to his power--so he tried to get the Constitution changed. First he tried to do so legally. Then he tried to do so illegally. Eventually he tried to order the military to help him get his way. In short, President Zelaya saw himself as the Honduran Hugo Chavez. And he has relied on Chavez's political and material support--including Venezuelan-owned media--in his quest for more power.

President Zelaya's attempts to subvert the Constitution became too much for the people of Honduras. It was too much for their supreme court, for their Congress, and for their military--all of whom agreed that President Zelaya had acted way beyond the powers of his office. So the other branches of government acted and removed Mel Zelaya from office on June 28.

I met with representatives of the Honduran people yesterday. They included two former Presidents of Honduras, several Honduran Congressmen, and two leaders who helped draft their Constitution in 1982. They all agreed that the legislative and judicial branches of government acted properly. They acted justly. They acted constitutionally. I believe the United States should stand with the Honduran people and with the Constitution they wrote.

Unfortunately, the Obama administration has loudly taken the wrong view on Honduras. From day one, the White House and the State Department have issued strong statements in defense of Mel Zelaya and offered no support to all the other constitutional officers in Honduras.

Just this week in Moscow, President Obama again called for the return of Mel Zelaya to power--just as Hugo Chavez, Raul Castro, and Daniel Ortega are doing.

The United States should not be standing with the dictators and demagogues of our region--we should be standing with the people of Honduras and all who wish to live in freedom and under the rule of law.

So I told Secretary Clinton yesterday that she should rethink the administration's approach to Honduras. I said I shared her hope that mediation by President Arias of Costa Rica would be successful. Yet I also made clear that America's priority should be to nurture freedom and support the rule of law and not excuse or enable the ambitions of tyrants.

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