Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding time. Mr. Chair, we stand at a moment in history. Seventy years after the end of World War II and 30 years after the end of the Cold War, the world is still battling authoritarianism. However, due to the increased global economic integration, authoritarian states have begun to utilize practices of economic coercion and predatory lending to take advantage of developing nations. These vulnerable countries are presented with funding for major development projects, which ultimately lead to unrepayable debt. When these governments cannot fulfill their financial obligations, they are forced to give up strategic ports and lands that can now be used by the authoritarian regimes to achieve diplomatic and strategic aims that threaten democracies and stability. At the same time, we face the challenge and opportunity of leading the global effort to combat extreme poverty and disease, with an increasing recognition that public investment and grants alone are insufficient for the task. To tackle these issues, I worked with my colleagues last Congress to pass the new U.S. Development Finance Corporation. This critical tool put America and her allies in the position to counter economic coercion by ensuring that our government maximizes the impact of our resources through a coordinated strategy that prioritizes the mobilization of private capital through a variety of investment structures and partnerships.…”