[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 132 (Tuesday, September 16, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1412-E1413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES-CARIBBEAN PARTNERSHIP ACT OF 2014

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 16, 2014

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, today, I am pleased to introduce the United 
States-Caribbean Partnership Act of 2014.
  I ask my colleagues to imagine countries where tens of thousands of 
American citizens travel for pleasure or business; where thousands of 
American citizens go to school; where there is a constant concern about 
drug trafficking to the United States; but where the United States has 
no U.S. embassies. Surprisingly, there are five countries in the 
Caribbean--only a few hundred miles from the United States--where we 
have no physical diplomatic presence. My legislation will correct this 
problem by establishing U.S. embassies in the five countries in the 
Caribbean with which the United States has diplomatic relations but no 
permanent diplomatic presence: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Kitts 
and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Currently, all 
diplomatic relations with these countries are run out of the U.S. 
embassy in Barbados.
  While these countries are small, they must not be taken for granted. 
They are key voting members of the United Nations and other 
international organizations. As members of the Organization of American 
States (OAS), their

[[Page E1413]]

votes are extremely important, particularly as countries in the 
hemisphere choose a new Secretary General next May. We must work with 
our partners in the Caribbean to ensure that the next OAS Secretary 
General is committed to upholding the principles enshrined in the 
Inter-American Democratic Charter. Without a U.S. presence in these 
five countries, it is very difficult to conduct in-person diplomacy 
with our counterparts on a range of crucial international issues. These 
countries are also of profound interest and importance to the millions 
of Caribbean-American citizens in the United States.
  Currently, in order to meet with local officials, the private sector 
or civil society, U.S. diplomats must fly in from Barbados (or 
Washington) on often expensive, infrequent flights, and stay overnight 
in often expensive island hotels. Close working relationships with key 
leaders cannot develop, because our diplomats are not there to 
establish them. And, our diplomacy is limited to phone calls, emails 
and faxes, even though we all know that the best interaction is carried 
out in person. In addition to our stymied diplomacy, U.S. citizens 
living in these countries do not have full consular services to assist 
in the event of emergencies.
  This bill establishes new embassies in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, 
St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines while 
using existing funding. I authored an amendment to create these 
embassies in 2011 which was approved unanimously by the House Foreign 
Affairs Committee. I look forward to working with the Obama 
Administration to get this legislation across the finish line this 
time.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.

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