Political Quotes

“Let me thank the ranking member and the chairman of the full committee for their leadership and also for the bipartisan leadership that is noted on the Foreign Affairs Committee on which I had privilege to serve some years ago when we worked on a number of issues. Let me add my appreciation to the Congresswoman from California, Barbara Lee, who led us during her tenure as the chairman of the Black Caucus during an enormous crisis in Haiti and, more importantly, as a supporter of this legislation and efforts to see Haiti move into a new era of democracy and reconstruction. This legislation, H.R. 3509, is long overdue. I ask my colleagues to enthusiastically support it. I traveled to Haiti on any number of occasions, visiting those who are incarcerated in jails, and even after the earthquake, to find individuals who were suffering and had been incarcerated and seeing people who had lost their place to live, children who were out of school, and resources that were looking to be directed but possibly, Mr. Speaker, not being directed as they should. This legislation, of course, will do several things. It will require a thorough assessment of the progress in meeting the original goals expressed in January 2011, Post-Earthquake U.S. Haiti Strategy; provide a description of efforts to combat corruption and ensure public accountability; and assess whether or not vulnerable populations have been taken into account in the design and implementation of the new program.…”