Political Quotes

“I want to thank my colleague representing the great people of New York, but also who hails from the Caribbean and understands the importance of legislation like this. As the representative of a Caribbean island, an English-speaking Caribbean island, I am grateful to be yielded the opportunity to talk about this important Caribbean Basin Security Initiative. Traffickers frequently transport cocaine and other contraband from South America through the Caribbean Sea. Building the law enforcement and interdiction capabilities of our Caribbean partners helps them stop illicit flows, making our Caribbean nations safer. By developing these capabilities, partner countries also can hold perpetrators accountable and deter further criminal activity that might harm their citizens, threaten their economies, and endanger U.S. citizens at home and as tourists in the Caribbean. The United States has committed over $556 million for CBSI for fiscal years 2010 to 2018. Congress has appropriated $58 million for fiscal year 2020. Bravo. To enhance maritime domain awareness and interdiction, we have improved radar coverage and sharing capacity, enhanced port security, and provided boats, equipment, and training to partner nations. In the Dominican Republic, the largest Caribbean transit point for cocaine, CBSI programs have yielded a 250 percent increase in cocaine interdictions.…”