Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2949: The ``Emergency Aid to American Survivors of the Haiti Earthquake Act.'' This bill would provide up to $25 million in Fiscal Year 2010 for a Department of Health and Human Services program which repatriates U.S. citizens from foreign countries. This assistance is vital to Americans who were living in Haiti when the earthquake struck as well as the families of those displaced who are now faced with the unexpected responsibility of supporting their repatriating relatives. This repatriation assistance provides temporary assistance to citizens and their dependents who are identified by the Department of State as needing to return from a foreign country to the U.S. but who do not have the resources to do so. As you know, on Tuesday, January 12th, a massive, 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti near the capital of Port-au-Prince. There is still no official estimate of death or destruction but the damage to buildings is extensive and the number of injured or dead is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands. The full dimensions of the disaster are still unfolding, but Haiti's Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told CNN that he believes there are well over 100,000 dead, and leading senator Youri Latortue estimated the number at possibly as high as 500,000, according the Associated Press.…”