Executive Session
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COTTON. Mr President, this week marks the 40th anniversary of the Iran hostage crisis, when 66 Americans were seized by an armed mob fueled by the anti-American ravings of Iran's revolution clerics. Fifty-two of those Americans were held captive for 444 days, during which time they were paraded on television and used as pawns by Iran's theocratic dictators.
Those Americans would finally come home safely, thanks to a pressure campaign of financial sanctions and trade embargoes by the United States and their partners, but not everyone came home safely from Iran. Before the crisis ended, five American airmen and three marines lay dead, killed in an ill-fated rescue mission necessitated by Iran's lawless deeds.
This week's anniversary is a useful reminder of the true nature of the regime in Tehran. Behind Iran's smooth talking, Western-educated diplomats are a band of radical clerics that act more like a criminal gang than the rulers of a sovereign nation.
Consider how the regime commemorated the 40th anniversary of their crime--not with apologies, like a civilized nation might. No, with anti-American rallies where uniformed soldiers--uniformed soldiers, not clerics, not activists--uniformed soldiers led chants of ``Death to America'' and ``Death to Israel.''
In other words, Iran is unreformed and unrepentant. It still takes and holds hostages to this very day--businessmen, professors, engineers, fathers, and mothers, all just bargaining chips to the Ayatollahs. That is why I have a bill to impose new and substantial costs on these kidnappers. The Global Hostage Act would require the President to sanction foreign officials who take Americans as their hostages.
The goal of our bill is clear: If you take Americans hostage, we will make your life miserable. You will not be able to travel here. You will not be able to bank here. You will not be able to send your kids to fancy schools here. You will be treated like the pariah you are, which is precisely what the Ayatollahs remain 40 years after they took their first American hostages.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COTTON. Mr. President, I would like to say a few words about Lee Philip Rudofsky, the President's nominee to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
In a few minutes, this body will vote to move ahead with this nomination. Lee has a long and impressive resume, from Harvard Law School to the White House Office of Legal Counsel, to Kirkland & Ellis, and beyond. His early career and qualifications speak for themselves. Lee is no stranger to serving Arkansans. He was our State's very first solicitor general. Lee left a good job at Wal-Mart to take that position and face the many challenges that come with it. He also moved 3 hours from his loving wife and three young kids to work around the clock for the people of Arkansas.
That hard work paid off for all of us. According to esteemed members of Arkansas' legal community from both parties, Lee ``established Arkansas Solicitor General's Office as one of the finest legal practices in the State of Arkansas.''
He has subsequently become a respected professor and recruiter at one of our State's two law schools, and Lee is also a leader at his local synagogue and a member of the local chapter of the American Inns of Court.
After the Senate votes to confirm him later this week, Lee will draw from this deep well of experience as he continues to serve the people of Arkansas with devotion and distinction. He will bring to the bench his intelligence, character, and, above all, commitment to the rule of law and the administration of equal justice under the law.
I was honored to introduce Lee before the Judiciary Committee earlier this year. I am now honored, again, to speak on his behalf today. Lee is an exceptional selection for the Federal bench. I am happy to call him friend, and soon I look forward to calling him a judge.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source