Political Quotes

“I thank my distinguished colleague, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel from the Boogie Down Bronx, for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I certainly want to take a moment of personal privilege just to thank Chairman Engel for his friendship, his support, and his extraordinary leadership year after year on behalf of the people of New York City and the Nation as a critically important member of the House Democratic Caucus and a tremendous, legendary public servant. Today, we vote on H.R. 5586, the Haiti Development, Accountability, and Institutional Transparency Initiative Act, a bill to upgrade the U.S. foreign assistance strategy to Haiti. Haiti was the first nation in the Caribbean to gain independence. It is the world's first Black-led republic, home to resilient and entrepreneurial people. Haiti has tremendous potential to thrive as a free, fair, and prosperous democracy. I am proud to represent a vibrant community of Haitian Americans in Brooklyn and Queens, including Little Haiti in Brooklyn, which is a neighboring congressional district represented by Congresswoman Yvette Clarke. As much of the diaspora has communicated to me, unfortunately, Haiti still faces severe challenges in its quest to achieve full prosperity for its people and the opportunity to live in a free, democratic society. This January marked the 10-year anniversary of the catastrophic Haiti earthquake that killed and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.…”