[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 43 (Wednesday, March 11, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E627]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE PEOPLE OF EL SALVADOR

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. CONNIE MACK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 11, 2009

  Mr. MACK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my support for the 
people of El Salvador as they head to the polls this weekend to elect a 
new president.
  Over the past years, the people of El Salvador have shown great 
resilience as they transformed their economy. From the privatization of 
state enterprises, to trade and financial liberalization, to the 
adoption of the United States dollar as its official currency, El 
Salvador and its people have chosen freedom and prosperity over 
communism and repression.
  Madam Speaker, the relationship between the people of El Salvador and 
of the United States has been a strong one. The Salvadorian government 
was a faithful ally in the war in Iraq where they once had as many as 
6000 soldiers supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
  We in the United States also have stood by our friends in El 
Salvador. For example, through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, El 
Salvador is currently receiving $461 million of investment in projects 
including education, public services, agricultural production, rural 
business development, and transportation infrastructure.
  In addition, El Salvador receives nearly $4 billion a year in 
remittances--almost 20% of its annual gross domestic product--from 
several million Salvadorans living in the United States.
  And, even more important for our national security interests is that 
El Salvador is host to the United States Navy's primary Forward 
Operating Location (FOL) in Central America which is used to monitor 
and intercept drug traffic.
  Madam Speaker, these examples reveal why this approaching election is 
so fundamental, and why it will have a great impact on the future 
direction of El Salvador and the relationship with the United States.
  The two primary presidential candidates are Rodgrigo Avila of the 
National Republican Alliance (ARENA) party and Mauricio Funes of the 
Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) party.
  Madam Speaker, the FMLN is a party that was formed from communist 
guerrillas that fought against the El Salvador government in one of the 
last battles in the Cold War. Nearly 70,000 people were killed during 
the 12-year war in El Salvador and brutal atrocities were committed by 
the FMLN.
  Today the FMLN and its communist candidates--with funding from 
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez--have fought hard to manipulate the 
democratic process in El Salvador in order to take at the ballot box 
what they couldn't by force.
  The FMLN has actively worked to undermine United States policy in the 
region by, among other things, openly supporting terrorist 
organizations such as the FARC in Colombia. And the FMLN candidate for 
vice president, Sanchez Ceren, is a known militant and guerrilla 
commander who staunchly opposes the United States.
  Should the FMLN win this Sunday, El Salvador likely would quickly 
become a satellite and proxy of Venezuela, Russia, and perhaps Iran. 
While we must always work and stand with our allies in the region, a 
government in El Salvador that is run by the FMLN and its cronies would 
clearly undermine the good relationship the current government in El 
Salvador has with the United States.
  Our close relationship with El Salvador is based on mutual respect 
for freedom and the rule of law. This relationship has allowed our 
people and our governments to work together in the past several years 
towards common goals.
  As we look to the future, we must weigh the potential ramifications 
of this election and its impact on our relations--more importantly, the 
longstanding and open policies related to TPS and the flow of 
remittances.
  Madam Speaker, the stakes are high this weekend for the people of El 
Salvador. As they go to the polls to select their next president and, 
more importantly, the future direction of their nation, I urge them to 
reject the FMLN and the failed ideas of the past.

                          ____________________