[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3421]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           VISIT OF LIBERIAN PRESIDENT ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF

  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, tomorrow, we will convene for a Joint 
Session of Congress to hear comments by the new Liberian President, 
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
  I hope that we will give her a warm welcome and send her home to the 
3.3 million people of Liberia with a simple and strong message: We will 
stand by you as you work day-by-day to build a safer, more prosperous 
country.
  It is an exciting and hopeful time for the people of Liberia. Civil 
conflict has been replaced by civil discourse. Free and fair 
Presidential elections have taken place, with dozens of candidates and 
three-fourths of voters turning out to shape the country's future.
  Looking back, it is clear what the Liberian people were voting for 
when they elected President Sirleaf: honest government, economic 
growth, an expansion of infrastructure, and greater opportunity for all 
Liberians, regardless of gender.
  They also chose a leader with three decades of experience. President 
Sirleaf has served as Finance Minister in Liberia, and she has also 
held high-level positions at the United Nations and World Bank.
  It is no surprise that in just 8 weeks in her new job, President 
Sirleaf is already making progress. She has taken bold steps to reduce 
corruption, and she has rightly emphasized the need to get ex-
combatants into schools and jobs. After more than a decade of conflict, 
this is vitally important.
  Now, Liberians in every part of the country are turning to President 
Sirleaf's government for things like clean water, electricity, health 
care, roads, and jobs. These are enormous challenges for the Government 
of Liberia, but they are also opportunities. They are opportunities to 
educate, to employ, to strengthen the rule of law, and to consolidate 
the peace. These opportunities are the bedrock of Liberia's great hope.
  We have an opportunity also. It is an opportunity to partner with 
more than 3 million people as they rebuild their country from conflict, 
using the bricks and glue of peace. And it is an opportunity to 
demonstrate to all the people of West Africa--and the world--that 
greater riches flow from peace than from any form of violence.
  In the last 2 fiscal years, Congress has appropriated almost $900 
million to reconstruction efforts in Liberia. Many Americans have 
participated personally in this noble work, through USAID, other 
government agencies, and many NGOs.
  We must continue these efforts. President Sirleaf and the people of 
Liberia have embraced democracy and peace. We must embrace them as our 
friends.

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