Political Quotes

“I thank the chairwoman very much, and I thank her for her leadership on this issue, joined with the chairman of the full committee and the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen and Chairman Berman; the Congressional Black Caucus; and so many Members who have issued their outpouring of support. I thank Chairman Payne for his continued efforts, and I thank all of the Members who have sizable populations of Haitians in their districts. There is a very active Haitian American population in Houston, Texas. We have been working. We have been pouring out our hearts, but we've also rolled up our sleeves. I believe there are several issues, as we support this resolution, that should be focused on. One, we must have a long-term response, a Marshall Plan, in essence, to help rebuild Haiti. Two, we must deal with the immediate crisis, emergency, loss of life, loss of loved ones, the ability to have medical care, and, yes, protecting our offerings. So my community met on this past Saturday with the county government, the State government, the city government, Mayor Annise Parker and her representatives, the fire department, and our National and Texas Reserve, committing ourselves the resources and assets to be able to be of assistance. I was delighted to have been able to send from Texas two plane-loads of doctors, nurses and medical supplies, led by Dr. Richard Toussaint, where this past weekend they were able to do 150 surgeries and 600 visits.…”