Political Quotes

“I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of House Resolution 311, introduced by my good friend from California, Ambassador Watson. For the past 129 years, the American Red Cross has been providing material and emotional support to victims of disasters and to our military families. Many of us know the story of the founding of the national organization by Clara Barton in the aftermath of her service during the Civil War. But, my colleagues may be less familiar with the fact that 93 years ago this week, Miami philanthropist Harriet Parsons James convened a group of local residents to begin the southeastern Florida chapter of the American Red Cross. A month later, Mrs. Florence Spottswood of Key West gathered a group of local leaders in the Keys to start what soon became the Key West chapter of the American Red Cross. Madam Speaker, the Spottswood family name is still associated with philanthropy and altruistic good works in the Florida Keys. After several years of humanitarian service, those organizations merged in May of 1987, and today the South Florida Region American Red Cross continues to be an indispensable neighbor to the people of my congressional district. In the past year, it has responded to 556 local emergencies, delivered nearly 1,000 emergency messages to and from military families, and trained more than 19,000 people in lifesaving skills in our community.…”