The main reason to vote against the amendment is that it is a killer amendment. that it is a killer amendment because it undoes the action of the Senate on June 26 and does so in a way that lets Senators think. "Well. we still care about the problem but we are not going to do anything about it." In addition to that. let me say that the amendment. itself. is drafted in a way which I think is most unfortunate. In some sense. though I know it is not intended. it would encourage repressive practices rather than discouraging them. The theory of JacksonVanik and the theory of ArmstrongDodd is to give an incentive for an oppressive regime to be less oppressive. to lift the repression on emigration and other kinds of human rights. We say that if the situation improves we will lift our restriction on most favored nation status. That is the theory of JacksonVanik and it is the theory of ArmstrongDodd.
Identified stereotypes
Oppressive regimes are oppressive.