U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, who is included on CNN’s Supreme Court shortlist of potential replacements for Antonin Scalia, shared her personal experience as senator with University of Wisconsin students Wednesday, highlighting the importance of an internationalized America.
Klobuchar became the first woman Minnesotan senator when she was elected in 2007 and has served on multiple Senate committees, including the Judiciary Committee and Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, according to UW statement.
Recently, Klobuchar has been leading the effort to lift the Cuban embargo in hopes of creating a more internationalized America. She said a lifted embargo would be economically beneficial for American farmers and companies.
She said since the world is growing increasingly interconnected, and the U.S. should not isolate itself from other countries.
She said the U.S. can become more connected by providing foreign aid and establishing relationships with countries in need. Klobuchar said providing foreign aid is essential to help struggling countries develop into functioning democracies and potential U.S. allies.
Klobuchar said these countries could help in the fight against terrorists like ISIS, but they cannot be allies of the U.S. if their economies are in disorder.
“You see how hard things can change … giving people the tools so they can have their own crops and build their own economies, Klobuchar said. When we do that we have allies against terrorists. You can’t have partners if their economies are a mess.”
In addition, Klobuchar said the U.S. is a nation built on the shoulders of immigrants. On Klobuchar’s mother’s side, her grandfather was rejected citizenship initially at Ellis Island because the Swiss immigrant quota was filled. Her grandfather proceeded to sneak into the U.S. through Canada and was an undocumented immigrant for years before gaining citizenship. Klobuchar said she thinks if her grandfather attempted this today, he would have never have become a citizen.
On her father’s side of the family, Klobuchar said her immigrant grandfather was a miner who worked hard to save enough money to send his two sons to college.
“It gives me a different sense of immigration reform,” Klobuchar said. “When I think of immigration that’s what I think about, and this idea that people should just keep people out of our country just because of their faith or where they’re from is just abhorring to me from that moral stand point, but the argument I would make to you about this issue is again an economic one.”
