Gwen Graham: “I first thank my friend from Minnesota for his very kind remarks and for the tenacity with which he oversees, supports…”

“I first thank my friend from Minnesota for his very kind remarks and for the tenacity with which he oversees, supports, and advocates for the education of the children of his State. I admire his priorities. I wish I could say the same thing about another action taken today in the House of Representatives. We have a neighbor with which we have had long historic and cultural ties. The case could be made that there would not be a United States of America today but for the aid of this neighbor. And that neighbor is the country of Haiti. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, one of the poorest countries in the world. It is a country with a gigantic illiteracy problem, a gigantic health problem, a gigantic unemployment problem. We have demonstrated the fact that actions in Haiti have an effect on our national interests by having invaded Haiti repeatedly during the 20th and now into the 21st century. Our typical invasion has been to deal with whatever was defined as the immediate problem, stay there for a brief period of time, and then leave. Soon all the problems that caused our previous involvement recurred. We invaded Haiti yet again earlier this year. I am concerned we may well have to repeat that if we do not take action to deal with two fundamental problems. One is security, the second is jobs.”