Political Quotes

“I rise today to honor Dr. Muhammad Yunus for his contributions to the fight against global poverty. Today, joined by my colleague Senator Bennett of Utah as well as Senators Clinton, Kerry and Harkin, I introduced the Muhammad Yunus Congressional Gold Medal Act. This bipartisan bill would award Dr. Yunus a Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of his efforts to fight poverty and promote economic and social opportunity. Along with the Grameen Bank, which he founded, Dr. Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for developing the concept of microcredit. Through the Grameen system, Dr. Yunus created an economically sound model of extending very small loans, at competitive interest rates, to the very poor. Through this system, he has been transforming lives, one loan at a time. He began in 1976 with a loan of just $27, out of his own pocket, to 42 village craftspeople in Bangladesh. Over the past 30 years, his model has been emulated around the world. I met Dr. Yunus on my first trip to Bangladesh, and there I saw firsthand the economic miracle that microcredit can help create. Nearly half the world's population lives on less than $2 a day. We can not hope to achieve lasting global peace and stability until we find a means by which the world's poorest can begin to lift themselves out of poverty. The microcredit movement that Dr. Yunus pioneered has made enormous strides towards that goal.”