Political Quotes

“Let me thank, first of all, the chairman of the Africa Subcommittee and Global Health Committee of the Foreign Affairs, Mr. Payne. There is no doubt of his recounting of the enormous history that has been involved around Haiti, but also the track record of the Congressional Black Caucus. So let me continue my remarks, and I will yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I note on this Congressional Black Caucus hour that two of our members have come to the floor: the chairwoman, the Honorable Barbara Lee, and the member from California, chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee and recent returnee from Haiti, Maxine Waters. So I will just recount, as the chairman just did, Chairman Payne, a lot of the work that we have done here in the United States. But also, in case many wonder why we are continuing this effort and why we have made a commitment as members of the Congressional Black Caucus to never give up and to never give out on Haiti and to view this as a long-term recovery and restoration is because the damage is so devastating. This reflects the early stages of the collapse of whole neighborhoods, literally the collapse of Port-au-Prince, and the devastating disaster that the people still face. Today, as we are looking at recovery, there are Haitians lifting stones by hand, one by one, to remove some of the debris that is already there.…”