Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the time. I applaud the work that both Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel have done in helping to focus more of our foreign policy priority here in our own Western Hemisphere. I also applaud Congresswoman Norma Torres for authoring the measure that we have before us today, H. Res. 145, reaffirming our dedication to the fight against corruption in Central America. It is an important measure, Mr. Speaker, and it is an important fight. For years, I have been a strong advocate for this fight because, where corruption is allowed to spread, drug trafficking and crime inevitably thrive; and this is negative for our neighbors, it is bad for us, and it is bad for our interests. That is why it is vital that we make battling corruption in the region more of a priority of our foreign policy. In fact, earlier this year, I traveled to Honduras and Guatemala with my good friend Albio Sires, and we saw firsthand how these governments are attempting to tackle corruption in their countries. It is not easy, Mr. Speaker. They are making progress and taking some of the tough decisions necessary, but there is so much more to be done and so much more that they need to do, but they need help from the United States. That is what we heard when we hosted the attorneys general from the Northern Triangle countries here in Washington, D.C., just last month to discuss what they are doing to fight corruption and what assistance they might need from us.…”