Senate Proceeding on Oct 1st, 2009 :: 8:45:45 to 8:55:10
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8:45:42 to 8:46:02( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: world mr. president, with that, i would yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presidin senator from south carolina. mr. demint: i ask to speak at in mor the presiding officer: without objection. mr. demint: mr. president, i just wanted to take a few moments in the middle of this debate on our defense bill to talk about a situation in

8:45:45 to 8:55:10( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Jim DeMint

8:46:03 to 8:46:24( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: honduras and maybe equally important, a situation here in the senate. honduras has come to the attention of many americans because of t government there and the questions about whether or not this was done constitutionally. i had arranged a trip along with a few house members to go to

8:46:25 to 8:46:46( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: honduras and meet with officials and find out more about the situation. unfortunately, i found out this afternoon that the chairman of the finance committee was block my trip, along with the state department. it's very concerning since no, ma'am of the

8:46:47 to 8:47:09( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: the time to go -- since no member of the senate has taken the time to go to honduras which is a very close ally of this country, where they have a military base. they certainly depend on our support. and i've got a growing concern of what appears to be intimidation and bullying from our administration. and i fact-finding trip.

8:47:10 to 8:47:33( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: this body normally fellow members curt circumstance and this was very disturbing that we would use politics to block a trip like this. but i would like to give a little bit of background on honduras since so many other things are going on, not many people here in the senate seem to be aware of the situation.

8:47:34 to 8:47:54( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: on june 28, then president man well sal iowa s was removed from -- president salias was removed, charged with crimes, both public corruption and abuse of power, president zelaya was attempting to subvert the honduran constitution and

8:47:55 to 8:48:15( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: install himself as a dictator in the mold of his close friend, hugo chavez. within hours the obama administration made an uninformed decision to call this constitutional process a coup, despite no one at the state department or white house having made a thorough review of the facts and the law. instead, we simply followed the

8:48:16 to 8:48:36( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: lead of the western hemisphere's most corrupt tyrants: fidel castro of cuba, daniel ortega of nicarauga and hugo chavez of venezuela. the president sided with them and against hondurans. a poor, loyal and democrat friend of the united states.

8:48:37 to 8:48:58( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: today i'm unaware of any provision in the honduran constitution that was violated in zelaya's removal from office, except perhaps removg him from the country instead of putting him in jail. the congress of zelaya's party, the supreme court, the attorney

8:48:59 to 8:49:19( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: general, the tribunal and the vast majority of the honduran people support zelaya's removal. the honduran military has remained under civilian control. the november 29 elections remain on schedule. the interim president is not on the ballot. the nominees for political parties are campaigning, and the country's

8:49:20 to 8:49:40( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: citizens are preparing for a free, fair, and transparent election. if that doesn't sound like a coup to you, you're not alone. last month a the congressional research

8:49:41 to 8:50:04( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: service found that removal, the removal of and the actions of the supreme court were legal a constitutional. a very detailed evaluation which apparently the administration has not taken the time to see. ere was no coup, but the obama administration nevertheless has cut off honduras from millions of dollars of aid.

8:50:05 to 8:50:25( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: the trip that i planned, which is tomorrow, along with three members of the house of representatives, was just to get to the bottom this have so we could report back thought senate and to the house of what was really going on. our trip meant every necessary -- met every necessary criteria. i've got scheduled meetings with

8:50:26 to 8:50:46( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: president michelet t eu, the supreme court, the leading candidates in next month's presidential election. i was going to meet with the business and civic leaders. this that the gentleman from massachusetts, senator ker chairman of foreign relations committee, was blocking the trip. no reason was given except that there were concerns at the state

8:50:47 to 8:51:09( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: department. if i were the obama state department, i would have concerns too. concerns the american people might find out the truth about what we're doing to the honduran people. to date not a single member of the senate has assessed the situation in honduras firsthand, and the obama administration refuses to allow honduran leaders and even private

8:51:10 to 8:51:32( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: citizens to come here to talk to us. what are they afraid of? are they afraid of the world discovering that their policy is based on a lie concocted by hugo chavez and the that we're backing a corrupt, would-be tyrant? this administration is only too eager, or at least seems to be,

8:51:33 to 8:51:53( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: too eager to talk to any anti-american tyrant on earth. but not even members of congress may visit a loyal ally hours i want to take this opportunity to thank the republican leader, senato stepping in and authorizing the trip. he would like to get to the bottom of this as well.

8:51:54 to 8:52:15( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: so the trip is back on. i look forward to reporting back to the senate next week after my return. but this is surprise. for eight months president obama has circled the globe, apologizing for america, appeasing our enemies and insulting our friends. meanwhile the president has spent more time lobbying for the

8:52:16 to 8:52:38( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: olympics and appearing on late-night comedy shows than meeting with his advisors about the troop surge in afghanistan. apparently the administration is upset with me because i am asking for a debate and vote on two nominations that they want for the state department: indeed i was told today if i lifted my

8:52:39 to 8:52:59( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: would be authorized by the foreign relations committee. the two nominees are thomas shannon, currently assistant secretary of state for latin america, president obama's nominee to be ambassador to brazil. and

8:53:00 to 8:53:21( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: i am asking for debate and vote on mr. shannon's nomination because he isupposedly been behind our policy in latin america in recent years. our mistakes in honduras occurred on his watch and with his advice. he was a bush appointee. but i have a lot of questions about what's going on in honduras.

8:53:22 to 8:53:42( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: he supports the obama aid cutoff in the coup classification. he hardly deserves now to represent america in the largest country in latin america, at least without a debate and a vote. mr. valenzuela shares these positions even though he admitted at his confirmation that he wasn't up to date on the facts.

8:53:43 to 8:54:03( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: unless and until the obama administration reverses its ill-informed and baseless claim that zelaya's removal was a coup and also restores american aid, i will continue to ask for debate and vote on these nominees so that we can discuss the issue openly here on the

8:54:04 to 8:54:24( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: floor of the senate. this country also needs to recognize the upcoming election which has been going o the campaign is open and transparent. but the obama administration is threatening not to recognize the election which is destabilizing the country and threatening to do more harm not only in

8:54:25 to 8:54:50( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: honduras, but throughout latin america. this policy is confirming hugo chavez. it's certainly not confirming a constitutional form of government. i look forward to reporting back to my members what i find in honduras. i again thank mitch mcconnell for taking the initiative to make sure that the trip is authorized. with that, mr. president, i

8:54:56 to 8:55:08( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: yield the presidg officer: the clerk will call the roll.