[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 8, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1406]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   COMPTROLLER RECOGNIZES THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RELATIONSHIP WITH THE 
            CARIBBEAN DURING CARICOM CONFERENCE IN NEW YORK

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 8, 2008

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring your attention to 
remarks made by New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. 
during the CARICOM Conference luncheon at the Brooklyn Marriott Hotel 
on Thursday the 19th of June.
  Bill spoke first and foremost to the uniqueness of the New York 
Caribbean relationship. He mentioned, ``While Caribbean Americans made 
up only 5 percent of the United States'' foreign-born population in the 
2000 Census, over one in five foreign-born residents of New York City 
came from the Caribbean. He also recognized the tremendous economic 
potential that the New York Caribbean population has; ``Caribbean 
Americans are creating jobs and stimulating the economy with businesses 
across the city . . . [and] helping to insulate us from the cyclical 
highs and lows in our finance and real estate sectors.''
  Most importantly, Mr. Thompson spoke of the increasingly influential 
role that emerging markets are having on the world economy. ``Since 
2002, emerging markets have outperformed many developed markets'' and 
``It is estimated that forty-five percent of the aggregate Gross 
Domestic Product in the world comes from emerging markets today.'' He 
made it clear that he will be considering the Caribbean as, a place to 
invest funds under his control as New York City Comptroller.
  The CARICOM Conference was crucial to address key issues of 
enterprise in the Caribbean but also to recognize the substantial 
economic influence of Caribbean nations as well as their enormous 
potential for growth.

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