[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 181 (Thursday, November 15, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S7042]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                              S.J. RES. 65

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, as the late Senator John McCain once 
wrote, ``We are a country with a conscience. We have long believed 
moral concerns must be an essential part of our foreign policy, not a 
departure from it.'' He believed, as I do, that human rights and the 
rule of law are the cornerstones of a just and free society.
  More than any President before him, however, President Trump has 
shirked our Nation's values. This is especially true in his engagement 
abroad; across the globe, President Trump has embraced autocrats and 
derided our democratic allies.
  The Kingdom of Bahrain is no exception to this disturbing trend. Just 
2 months into his tenure, President Trump lifted all human rights 
conditions on a multibillion dollar sale of American fighter jets to 
Bahrain, imposed by President Obama. President Trump has attached no 
human rights conditions to any successive arms sale to Bahrain, 
including the arms identified in S.J. Res. 65.
  The message President Trump has sent is clear: Bahrain has a green 
light to act with total impunity against its citizens. The Trump 
administration's decision coincided with an intensified government 
campaign against civil society and peaceful political opposition. In 
its 2017 Human Rights Report, the State Department cited Bahrain's 
unlawful killings by security forces, arbitrary arrest and detention of 
civilians, restrictions on freedom of expression, arbitrary citizenship 
revocation, and limits on Shia political participation, among a litany 
of other abuses by the state.
  I recognize that, in every relationship, the United States must 
carefully weigh our national security interests. Bahrain is an 
important strategic partner and hosts our Navy's Fifth Fleet. The arms 
identified in S.J. Res. 65 are intended for Bahrain's territorial 
defense, which I support. However, I reject the notion, supported by 
this President, that our values and our interests are at odds. Our 
values, our willingness to consider the human costs of our actions, are 
what make the United States and what keep the United States 
exceptional. President Trump should not have abandoned human rights 
conditions in our arms sales to Bahrain, which is why I voted against 
the motion to table S.J. Res. 65.

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