Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2548, the Electrify Africa Act of 2014, a bill that directs the President to expand electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa. I would like to thank my good friends and colleagues, Chairman Ed Royce and Ranking Member Eliot Engel, and the committee staff, for all of the work that they have done on this important bill. H.R. 2548 directs the President to establish a multiyear strategy to assist countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to develop an appropriate mix of power solutions to provide sufficient electricity access to people living in rural and urban areas in order to alleviate poverty and drive economic growth. With greater access to electricity, Africa has the capacity to grow its economies, facilitating greater volumes of interregional, transcontinental, and international trade. Greater access to electricity also enables countries to expand human capacity and address the critical challenges of underemployment. Access to additional power will also help both individual countries and geographic regions address infrastructure challenges related to things such as roads, rail, and ports, all of which contributes to increasing the capacity of African nations and the continent as a whole. Greater access to electricity improves the quality of life for not only urban, but rural communities.…”