Political Quotes

“I start by thanking my friend, Chairman Diaz-Balart for his hard work on State and Foreign Operations appropriations legislation. I know he and his staff have worked tirelessly over the last several months to get this bill in the position it is in now, and I thank them for their hard work on this. Mr. Chairman, earlier this year, May 24, my constituent, Cameron Robbins-- along with probably hundreds of other high school graduates from the Baton Rouge area--went on a trip to The Bahamas to celebrate his high school graduation. Tragically, Cameron went overboard on a sunset cruise a few hours after arriving. Mr. Chair, I think we got the first call around midnight. We were on the phone until 4 a.m., working, literally overnight, waking up admirals and captains and all kinds of folks from the United States Coast Guard, and working with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force to ensure there were appropriate search-and-rescue efforts to find Cameron. Regrettably, Mr. Chairman, despite the efforts of the United States Coast Guard and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, Cameron's body was never found. You can imagine the tragic impact on the family, on the students, and on the entire community. Mr. Chairman, the Bahamian Government is our friend. We are allies. We are obviously very close, and we have close economic relationships. The police in The Bahamas conducted a very extensive investigation. They interviewed students who were nearby to find out what happened.…”