Kent Conrad: “I join with my colleagues who were part of the delegation to Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. I also salute the majority…”

“I join with my colleagues who were part of the delegation to Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. I also salute the majority leader, Senator Reid, for making as his first trip as majority leader one to these countries in our hemisphere. I think it sent a very important signal to those countries that America is interested in them, that America cares about them, and that we want to improve relations with them. It did make an impression. In country after country, people told us they could not remember the last time a Senate delegation from the United States had come. They could not recall a delegation of this size and this significance coming. You could tell it made an impression. Now, why was it important to go? I believe it was important to go because, first, we see Mr. Chavez, the head of Venezuela, attempting to put together an anti-American bloc in our Southern Hemisphere. Even a casual observer can see that is being attempted.”