Chris Dodd: “let me inform my colleagues that this amendment is acceptable to the managers of the underlying bill, Senator McConnell…”

“let me inform my colleagues that this amendment is acceptable to the managers of the underlying bill, Senator McConnell and Senator Leahy. I thank them for their work on behalf of this particular effort. At the conclusion of my remarks, I will not ask that the amendment be adopted at this juncture. Senator McConnell and Senator Leahy prefer that occur at a later time. I wish to take the opportunity to address the amendment and the rationale for it. I again thank my colleagues, the chairman and ranking member, for accepting the amendment to the Foreign Operations bill. The amendment I am offering on behalf of myself, Senator Nelson of Florida, and Senator Reed, relates to the situation in the Republic of Haiti. The island nation shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean. The situation there cries out, as any other place in the world, to this body. I have spoken about my concerns with respect to the ongoing crisis in Haiti many times on this floor, as have some of my colleagues. I commend particularly Senator DeWine of Ohio who has not only spoken about this issue on numerous occasions but, as a result of the efforts he and his family have made, has a very direct involvement in trying to improve the lives of the people in Haiti and has visited the country many times.…”