Political Quotes

“I would like to thank the chairlady of the Congressional Black Caucus, Barbara Lee, for the leadership that she has provided on this issue since this disaster. But of course Barbara Lee has been involved in assistance to Haiti public policy-wise and with the other kinds of disasters that have confronted Haiti over a long period of time. And so I join with her in all of the efforts to do what we can to assist the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti. I have spent a good part of my career trying to be of assistance public policy-wise and again when these disasters have struck Haiti. And so when the earthquake took place, we were all stunned, and we all immediately began to make inquiries of the USAID and the U.N. and the Red Cross, and all of those agencies responsible for disaster relief. And all of those inquiries and briefings having been going on every day, headed by Congresswoman Barbara Lee. I decided at one point I had to go to Haiti. I just had to be there to talk with some of the people that I have worked with over the past, to talk with President Preval, and to see what we could do additionally to be of assistance to our agencies. I want to just tell you that USAID is working very, very hard. The U.N., working very, very hard. And I want you to know that USAID employees were sleeping on cots inside the embassy. Many of their homes were destroyed. Still, there were six missing persons when I was there from USAID and the State Department.”