Political Quotes

“Mr. President, last week Congress recognized one of the planet's leading visionaries and humanitarians by awarding Prof. Muhammad Yunus the Congressional Gold Medal. The ceremony occurred just a few hundred yards from here in the august Capitol Rotunda. There to pay tribute to this proud son of Bangladesh, this banker to the poor, this Nobel laureate were Members of Congress, former heads of state, diplomats, heads of major companies and foundations, and grassroots activists--all of whom have been inspired by the work of one great man--Prof. Muhammad Yunus. It was a great privilege for me to be there. More than 6 years ago I introduced a resolution in the Senate to award Professor Yunus the Congressional Gold Medal. I was joined in this effort by my friends, former Utah Senator Robert Bennett and Representative Rush Holt in the House. We had a lot of help outside of Congress in making this happen. Joanne Carter and her team at RESULTS were instrumental. Thousands of RESULTS grassroots volunteers across the country contacted their Members of Congress and asked them to support the effort to recognize Professor Yunus. Two of those volunteers were Cindy Levin and Richard Smiley from Illinois. I am pleased that both could be here to see their hard work pay off. I first met Muhammad Yunus more than two decades ago in Bangladesh. His revolutionary concept of microcredit and the Grameen Bank that he founded was helping to lift millions out of poverty.…”