Executive Session

Floor Speech

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EGYPT

Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, some Senators are concerned that I may be delaying a vote in the Senate. This is not true. I offered yesterday to vote on my amendment with 10 minutes of discussion. I have offered to vote immediately at any point in time.

I do think it is worth 10 minutes of our time and 10 minutes of America's time to discuss the plight of U.S. citizens in Egypt. I don't think 10 minutes is too much to ask to discuss, debate, and vote on whether Egypt should continue to get aid from us while detaining our citizens. Egypt is unlawfully preventing U.S. citizens from leaving that country. I don't think 10 minutes is too much to ask. We have sent over $60 billion in aid to Egypt over the years, and they now hold 19 U.S. citizens virtually hostage.

Will we ever learn? Will we ever learn we can't buy friendship? Nineteen U.S. citizens who traveled to Egypt to help Egypt embrace democracy, to help Egypt to have an elective government, to enjoy the freedoms we enjoy and the success we enjoy having a democratic government, those Americans are now being prevented from leaving Egypt. Some of the prodemocracy workers are, in fact, seeking refuge in the U.S. Embassy.

This is a tragedy and something we should make a clear and unequivocal statement about. Does Egypt wish to be part of the civilized world or do they wish to descend into the lawlessness of the Third World? Some have argued we don't need these provisions, that there are already provisions in place to prevent Egypt from getting aid. Apparently, the Egyptians aren't listening, and they need to listen very clearly.

The amendment I proposed will end all aid to Egypt--economic and military. We give over $1.5 billion to Egypt every year, and we cannot continue to give aid to a country that is illegally detaining our U.S. citizens.

Some have said the provisions we already have will take care of this. There are a couple problems. The Egyptians aren't hearing that message, so the message needs to be louder and more firm. We will not tolerate any country holding U.S. citizens as hostages or lawlessly. I think Egypt needs to know America means business, and that is what this debate is all about.

I don't think it is too much to ask the Senate to consider this proposal on Egypt; let's spend 10 minutes and let's have a vote to send a message to Egypt.

The question is, Will we ever learn? Will we ever learn we cannot buy friendship? Will we ever learn we cannot create Democrats out of authoritarians simply by buying them off? We have tried it. We have sent billions of dollars to Africa and asked authoritarians who rape and pillage and torture their own people, and we give them more money trying to convince them to be democratic. It doesn't work.

We need to have a firmer hand and say there will be no more aid to countries that detain U.S. citizens, that don't allow their citizens to vote, and to countries that torture and rape and pillage their population.

We have sent billions of dollars to Afghanistan, and it is an insult to Americans--particularly to American soldiers--that the President of Afghanistan has said if there were a war, he would side with Pakistan against the United States.

Will we ever learn? We send money--billions of dollars--to these countries, and apparently they still dislike us, disrespect us, and say they will side with our enemies.

There are now officials in Pakistan, which has gotten billions of dollars from us, saying Pakistan will side with Iran. Afghanistan is telling us they will side with Pakistan. So Pakistan will side with Iran, and what does the chump, the U.S. taxpayer, get? Send more money. No. 1, we don't even have the money. We are borrowing the money from China, and we are asked to send more money to people who disrespect us. I think that is an insult that should end.

Will we ever learn? Will we ever learn we can't buy friendship? Will we ever learn authoritarians, no matter how much money we give them, will not become democratic? Egypt must be put on notice.

The President is not leading on this issue. Just a few weeks ago, the President's Under Secretary of State, Robert Hormats, stated he wanted to make sure the administration assured the Egyptians that we want to provide them ``more immediate benefits.''

Do you think that maybe the President is sending the wrong message to the Egyptians? They are detaining 19 U.S. citizens and preventing them from coming home and U.S. citizens are holed up in our Embassy and the administration says we need to make sure the benefits get there immediately. The administration is bragging about sending more aid to Egypt.

Just yesterday, the President came out with a new budget. Guess what. There is $1.5 billion of taxpayer money to be sent to Egypt. What kind of message are we sending them? I think the President is not leading the country and is not exemplifying what most Americans would want; that is, to send a clear and unequivocal message to Egypt that we will not tolerate this behavior or subsidize this behavior.

Think of it. The American taxpayer is being asked to subsidize a government that is detaining U.S. citizens. The American taxpayer is being asked to subsidize Pakistan, that says they would side with Iran. The American citizen, the American taxpayer, is being asked to subsidize Afghanistan, that said they would side with Pakistan against us. All the while we are running trillion-dollar deficits, borrowing this money, and bankrupting our country.

The Egyptians need to be sent a clear and unequivocal message. I think it is worth 10 minutes of the Senate's time to have a vote. I think it is worth it for the 19 U.S. citizens. If it were my child in Egypt working there for a prodemocracy group, I would want to think the Senate had 10 minutes of time. I would want to think the Senate can spare 10 minutes of time to send the Egyptians a signal that we will not tolerate this and they must let our citizens come home.

The United States will not and should not stand for the detention of American citizens. The United States will not stand for imprisonment or travel restrictions on its citizens, and the United States should not send aid to a government that so casually accuses American citizens of political crimes.

So while some will say I am holding up the business of the Senate, I argue this is the business of the Senate; that foreign policy was delegated--much of it--to the Senate, that we are abdicating our role, and that we as the Senate should send a clear and unequivocal message to Egypt.

So I will continue to argue, despite much opposition, to have a vote to send a signal to Egypt that we will not tolerate the detention of U.S. citizens.

Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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