Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairwoman, former chairwoman of the full committee when I first came to Congress, and a real leader on foreign affairs issues, focused on Cuba and Venezuela. She has been a real mentor to me, and I want to thank her for her work on this, giving us the opportunity to speak tonight. Again, Ranking Member Sires has been a champion on our subcommittee. I want to echo the words about Mr. Castro as well. We have got a great Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere focusing on freedom and democracy in the Western Hemisphere. What we see in Venezuela is alarming, as well as it is saddening, when we hear about Venezuelans who are scrounging for food in the dumpsters, eating domesticated animals, even flamingos; people who are hungry because the socialistic policies of the Maduro and the previous Chavez regime has not worked in Venezuela. A country that has bountiful natural resources, more oil than Saudi Arabia, should be leading this hemisphere in economics. Yet because of the policies of the Chavez and Maduro governments, the people of Venezuela are continuing to be oppressed. This weekend, more than 2,000 Venezuelans took to the streets, marking, I think, the 50th day of protests against this regime. I can't think of any other way to describe this faux democracy in Venezuela, other than a regime. The Venezuelan people are standing up and calling for a new government.…”