Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, let me start by thanking Mr. Jeffries for authoring this bipartisan bill. He has been a strong advocate for the Haitian people, and I thank him for his leadership on this issue. There are many, many colleagues in this Congress who feel very strongly about the U.S. relationship with Haiti. I am certainly one of them, and I know Mr. Smith is and, of course, Mr. Jeffries and many other people on our committee. We have Haiti, which is not that far from the United States, and is really, I think, an obligation of the United States, helping the people of Haiti. There has been such misery and such problems there that they really need our help, our continued and sustained help. Again, Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Jeffries for his leadership on this issue. On January 12, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, displacing 1.5 million people and killing more than 200,000. Less than 2 months after the earthquake, I had the opportunity to visit Haiti and survey the damage. I stand here today with the same message my colleagues and I delivered to the Haitian people 10 years ago: The United States remains steadfast in its commitment to assist Haiti in its time of need. Over the last decade, Congress has worked closely with the Haitian- American diaspora, the Haitian people, and the Haitian Government to support rebuilding and development efforts on the island, but Haiti still has a long way to go.…”