[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 106 (Thursday, June 28, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1441-E1442]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     TIME TO FOSTER GREATER COLLABORATION FOR OUR REGIONAL SECURITY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 28, 2007

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to introduce the Joint 
Statement issued by the Bush Administration and the Caribbean Heads of 
State at the conclusion of the CARICOM summit. I cannot underscore 
enough the importance of a consistent and progressive relationship 
between the United States and the Caribbean. I am pleased with the 
success of the Conference on the Caribbean held in Washington DC, last 
week with the members of the Caribbean Community, CARICOM. To hold such 
a historic meeting during Caribbean-American Heritage Month speaks to 
the understanding of the administration to the importance of 
maintaining a fruitful partnership with our neighbors in the Caribbean.
  During their visit to the United States the heads of states of 
CARICOM requested to meet with Members of the U.S. House of 
Representatives with whom they have worked on issues affecting the 
Caribbean and Members who sit on committees with jurisdiction over 
issues affecting the region. Fourteen members of the delegation, 
including the President of Guyana, Vice President of Suriname, Prime 
Ministers and Foreign Ministers of Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas, 
Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, 
Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago met 
with members of the House Ways and Means Committee for an Executive 
Session that I organized. Among the topics we discussed during this 
executive session were the Caribbean trade preferences expiring next 
year and their possible extension, as well as the provision of enhanced 
assistance of the U.S. Government to the CARICOM Secretariat for 
capacity building to implement its single market.
  In order to expand economic opportunities at home and in the 
Caribbean, there is a need to update and expand the Caribbean Basin 
Initiative. President Bush stated his intentions to work with Congress 
to extend the reach of the Caribbean Basin Trade Promotion Act as well 
as the 1991 Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, TIFA.
  Expanding the TIFA to include services benefits our Caribbean 
neighbors in light of services being the backbone of CARICOM economies. 
At the forefront of the services offered by many CARICOM countries are 
professional financial services. Our support for recognizing the 
regulatory and transparency compliance of CARICOM countries--10 of 
which are listed alongside 34 nations in current tax haven 
legislation--should be addressed. By investigating and recognizing the 
compliance of these nations, in line with the Organization of Economic 
Cooperation and Development, OECD, definition of tax havens, 
legislators can remove their names from current bills that could prove 
detrimental to developing Caribbean economies if passed.
  In addition to the House Committee on Ways and Means, the heads of 
states met with the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the 
Congressional Black Caucus. During the meeting with the Congressional 
Black Caucus, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reiterated the commitment of 
the House leadership to address the challenges facing the nation of 
Haiti.
  Having shared values and interests in regional security, the 
Caribbean Community and the United States can best achieve democratic 
aims by fostering regional understanding and accountability. Greater 
support for regional security goes beyond sharing resources and ideas 
to protect our borders, but it also encompasses the threat of HIV/AIDS. 
After Sub-Saharan Africa, the largest population of HIV/AIDS infected 
individuals resides in the Caribbean. In Congress, we continue to 
provide funding to assist nations in the region address

[[Page E1442]]

this challenge. Haiti and Guyana are two of the nations that will 
benefit from the funding provided to the President's Emergency Plan for 
AIDS Relief, PEPFAR; we are also pushing to include funding to expand 
this initiative to all Caribbean nations.
  While the national security threats of our countries are different in 
terms of scale, we must work to ensure cooperation in the fight against 
drugs, small arms, and transnational crime, all which threaten the 
entire region. Rising crimes rates in the Caribbean can be attributed 
to a deportation process that does not widely consider the negative 
impact on receiving countries. Criminal deportees sent to the Caribbean 
often have established themselves in the United States, and being sent 
to the Caribbean without financial or social support can foster poverty 
in the region. The situation of poverty, if left unaddressed, increases 
the transnational pressure to adopt extremist ideology. We must 
therefore be committed to decreasing the incidence of crimes leading to 
deportation through the sharing of resources and information. There 
must be a regional effort to address threats of terrorism in the United 
States and the Caribbean.
  Supporting Haiti's reconstruction process should also be a priority 
of the U.S. government. As the second free-state in the Western 
Hemisphere, how we treat Haiti as a recovering democracy is how we 
treat ourselves. As Haiti makes efforts under the leadership of 
President Preval to rebuild, the U.S. can serve as an important 
bilateral partner. The need to grant temporary protected status (TPS) 
to Haitian nationals in the U.S. is urgent to ensure the protection of 
Haitians as well as remission preservation during the country's time of 
recovery. These remissions are crucial to the welfare and survival of 
Haiti from recent environmental and political difficulties.

  As the cornerstone of development, educational collaboration should 
be sought in the Western Hemisphere to promote higher living standards 
and stronger democratic institutions. We must support increased 
exchanges between U.S. and Caribbean students. The Shirley A. Chisholm 
United States-Caribbean Educational Exchange Act of 2007 introduced by 
Congresswoman Barbara Lee presents an opportunity to fund educational 
development and exchange programs between the U.S. and the Caribbean. I 
encourage my colleagues to support greater relationships with our 
friends in the Caribbean. The prosperity and security of our region 
depends on the decisions we make today to foster collaboration and 
effective communication between the U.S. and our CARICOM neighbors.
  Overall, I believe that the members of CARICOM had very productive 
meetings in Washington, DC, and laid the foundation for future 
discussions and a commitment to help the CARICOM nations meet their 20/
20 Vision.

              Joint Statement: Conference on the Caribbean

       1. We, the Heads of State and Government of the United 
     States of America and of the Caribbean Community Nations of 
     Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, 
     Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint 
     Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad 
     and Tobago, meeting in Washington DC, on June 20, 2007, 
     reaffirm our unequivocal commitment to a secure and 
     prosperous region and future for the benefit of all of our 
     citizens.
       2. Recalling our shared history of democracy, respect for 
     human rights, social justice, and cultural and ethnic 
     diversity, we highlight the value of our enduring friendship 
     and recommit ourselves to enhancing our partnership to 
     reinforce the development aspirations that guide our mutual 
     priorities.
       3. We pledge to continue promoting the consolidation of 
     democratic norms, values, and institutions throughout the 
     hemisphere and to enhance accountability and respect for 
     individual rights.
       4. We agree to take steps to expand economic opportunities 
     for our people, to address the threats of terrorism and 
     crime, and to provide the benefits of democracy to all 
     members of our societies, recognizing that democracy will 
     best flourish if our societies are stable and our 
     economies are prosperous.
       5. We recognize the establishment of the CARICOM Single 
     Market and Economy as a critical element of the growth and 
     development strategy of the Caribbean Community.
       6. We are determined to strengthen our existing trade 
     arrangements. We acknowledge President Bush's announcement to 
     work with Congress to extend and update the Caribbean Basin 
     Trade Promotion Act and the 1991 Trade and Investment 
     Framework Agreement. We further commit to the harmonization 
     of customs procedures consistent with global standards and 
     the advancement of technical trade cooperation.
       7. We reiterate our support for Caribbean efforts to expand 
     the services sector, and encourage a focus on the 
     international financial services sector to facilitate a 
     competitive means of economic diversification while remaining 
     committed to the maintenance of appropriate regulatory and 
     supervisory practices, consistent with the highest 
     international standards.
       8. Cognizant of the spread of HIV and AIDS and the impact 
     on the economic and social development of our people, we 
     pledge to deepen our cooperation in health and welcome the 
     initiative to continue PEPFAR in the Caribbean.
       9. Cognizant that more than 95 percent of CARl COM's energy 
     needs are derived from fossil fuels, we pledge to increase 
     cooperation in this area to achieve sustainable, secure, and 
     affordable access to energy for all our citizens.
       10. We agree to increase cooperation efforts in the field 
     of education and workplace training. We commit to strengthen 
     teacher training by expanding the Caribbean Centers for 
     Excellence. We also commit to strengthen human capacity in 
     the Caribbean to meet the demands of a 21st century 
     employment environment through partnering with academic 
     institutions and non-governmental groups as well as through 
     skills training for youth via the Entra-21 program.
       11. We declare our intention to negotiate an agreement on 
     cooperation in Science and Technology including Information 
     Communication Technologies.
       12. We recommit to our ongoing efforts of cooperation in 
     the area of disaster preparedness, mitigation, and recovery.
       13. We acknowledge the multidimensional nature of the 
     security threats and challenges faced by our countries and 
     pledge to continue to work together in the fight against 
     terrorism, trafficking in persons, drugs and small arms, and 
     transnational crime.
       14. We also acknowledge the successful security partnership 
     developed to secure the CARICOM Region during its hosting of 
     the Cricket World Cup 2007. To this end, we agree to continue 
     strengthening the Region's security infrastructure.
       15. We recognize the need to work more closely on 
     immigration security issues in a manner respectful of 
     national laws and government services capacity and sensitive 
     to the effects of human displacement. We will jointly work 
     toward the expansion of the pilot reintegration program for 
     deportees in Haiti to include other CARICOM member states. We 
     will develop new ways to facilitate, coordinate, and 
     communicate between our immigration services.
       16. We are heartened by the substantial progress in Haiti 
     made by the Government of President Preval, with the support 
     of international partners. We recognize that Haiti will 
     continue to require substantial regional and international 
     support in the implementation of a consistent and long-term 
     strategy of institution and capacity building, and pledge to 
     work together with the three branches of the Haitian 
     Government.
       17. On the occasion of Caribbean-American Heritage Month, 
     we pay tribute to the generations of Caribbean-Americans who 
     have helped shape the spirit and character of the United 
     States of America and who continue to contribute to the 
     growth and development of the Caribbean.

                          ____________________