[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 113 (Thursday, July 13, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H6918]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         PRESIDENTIAL FLIP-FLOP

  (Mr. HEFLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, in March 1992, then Gov. Bill Clinton was 
quoted regarding the issue of normalizing relations with Vietnam as 
saying:

       The president should not just state that the resolution of 
     the issue is a ``national priority,'' he should make it the 
     national priority, and direct that all agencies cooperate and 
     resolve it. . . . Before I would normalize relations or 
     provide assistance to any of the countries involved, they 
     would be required to open their files and actively assist in 
     solving this issue.

  And then in October of that same year he said:

       It would be ``putting the cart before the horse'' to 
     normalize relations before receiving a full accounting of the 
     prisoner situation. . . .

  I ask where is that full accounting President Clinton promised before 
normalizing of relations would occur? Where is it?
  President Clinton has indeed put the cart before the horse. He has 
normalized relations with Vietnam in return he got nothing.

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