Political Quotes

“Thank you very much, Congressman Payne. Let me thank you for that presentation and also for putting Haiti in a historical context. It is important that we recognize and remember the history of how our foreign policy and our relations with Haiti have been so important in the past, which now has brought us to this day. So, today, we are talking about how we can respond in an emergency way and in a manner that will help the Haitian people take care of the sick and that will help with these search and rescue efforts. I also thank you for reminding us that we have to help Haiti to move forward and to rebuild and recover. Now I would like to ask Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee to speak. Congresswoman Jackson Lee is a member of the Homeland Security Committee, but also she was very instrumental in the Katrina response. She provided many, many ways and vehicles for Katrina survivors to live and to have a decent place to stay until they could return home, and she ensured that FEMA was responsive to their needs. She really took on many, many issues as it relates to hurricane survivors. Now she is working very hard as it relates to the earthquake in Haiti. So thank you again, Congresswoman Jackson Lee. Let me just remind you, and I was listening to Congressman Payne, that I come from an area that is earthquake-prone. It is hard to imagine what a 7.0 or a 7.1 earthquake is on the Richter scale given our experience with, maybe, a 4 or a 5 or a 6.…”