Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise today as a proud original cosponsor of House Resolution 1066, recognizing the bravery and the efforts of the United States Armed Forces, the local first responders, and other members of Operation Unified Response. Six weeks ago today, Haiti was struck by the largest earthquake to reach its shores in over two centuries. And while many of us were trying to grasp the tremendous impact of this disaster, the United States Armed Forces were mobilized. They were engaged in what turned out to be one of, if not the most key operation in Haiti's recovery. Operation Unified Response was assembled almost immediately following the January 12 earthquake, and it was headed by the largest joint task force in the history of the U.S. Southern Command, SOUTHCOM. At the height of the emergency relief efforts, there were more than 20,000 U.S. military personnel afloat and ashore working to facilitate search and rescue operations, delivering supplies, providing security in support of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts. In addition, the men and women of the U.S. military did a remarkable job in quickly standing up the airport in Port-au-Prince and in helping to repair and increase the capacity of many of the destroyed ports in that city. Before the earthquake, Port-au-Prince airport was averaging about 20 flights a day.…”