Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman for the time, and I thank the ranking member for those very sweet words. Mr. Speaker, I echo what Ranking Member Engel said about my trusted staff director, Eddy Acevedo. This is his last week with us. He starts Monday with the USAID. He has got the whole weekend to party on. He has been my partner in all of these battles in favor of freedom and democracy and against autocratic regimes, which brings us to this bill before us, Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of this bill, H.R. 2658, the Venezuela Humanitarian Assistance and Defense of Democratic Governance Act of 2017. I am proud to be, as the chairman said, the Republican lead on this important legislation. I have been proud to work side by side with the author of the bill, our ranking member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Eliot Engel, in putting this bill together. Eliot has been a leading voice in this legislative body in support of freedom and democracy across the globe, as has our esteemed chairman. But Eliot has really focused in on this hemisphere, especially on Venezuela. I want to thank him for his leadership on this issue. I also want to thank his trusted adviser sitting two seats away from him on all Western Hemisphere-related items. Eric Jacobstein is my buddy from Haiti. We have enjoyed as much as one can enjoy going to an island nation that needs so much help. The people of Haiti are beautiful, and it has been a joy to travel with Eric and with Eddy.…”