Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I have submitted three amendments for consideration by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee. The first amendment that I will offer is one which addresses the microcredit issue. This is one that I think is of extraordinary importance in terms of supporting and promoting the entrepreneurial spirit of small business people around the globe through the use of microcredit loans. For those unfamiliar with the term, microcredit is a very small loan given to very poor people with dramatic and positive results. By accepting this amendment, we could enhance the lives of thousands of impoverished people throughout the world as well as their families and communities. Many years ago, I journeyed to Bangladesh with a colleague of mine from the House of Representatives, Mike Synar of Oklahoma, who passed away a couple years ago. In Bangladesh, we saw the activities of the Grameen Bank, the people's bank, which gave small loans to very, very poor people. Through those loans, these peoples lives were transformed.”