I think our interests are pretty paramount down there, and we should do what s necessary to protect our interests. Hyde long has been identified with the protection of religious freedom and the rights of the unborn, so it is not surprising that he sees human rights as central to the mission of the committee. I think one of the purposes of our foreign policy is to identify problems and help human rights to flourish. People are human beings and not animals or cattle. America since its founding has been an exponent of human rights as outlined in our Declaration of Independence.
China presents the most salient problem.
I think human rights is a laudable and important goal for us to assert in an attempt to influence other countries because a country that grants its people human rights will be a peaceful country and a prosperous country. Certainly Lantos will be an ally with Hyde on this issue. I sponsored the resolution opposing the holding of the Olympic Games in Beijing, which passed the House unanimously. The Bush administration will have my strong support on matters where I agree with them and will not have it on matters where I disagree with them which is no different from what I did during the Clinton administration. He also expects that U.N. funding no longer will be an issue after the agreement struck between former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbroke and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms.