[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4201]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES-CARIBBEAN PARTNERSHIP ACT OF 2015

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 24, 2015

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, today, I am pleased to introduce the United 
States-Caribbean Partnership Act of 2015, along with my friends and 
colleagues Representatives Gregory Meeks, Frederica Wilson, Alcee 
Hastings, Barbara Lee, Yvette Clarke, Lois Frankel, Albio Sires and Ted 
Deutch. This bill will establish embassies in the five Caribbean 
countries where we currently have no physical diplomatic presence--
Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. 
Vincent and the Grenadines.
  Five years ago, President Obama attended the Summit of the Americas 
in Trinidad and Tobago and declared that, ``It's appropriate and 
important that we hold this summit in the Caribbean. The energy, the 
dynamism, the diversity of the Caribbean people inspires us all, and is 
such an important part of what we share in common as a hemisphere.'' I 
could not agree more. As we approach the upcoming Summit of the 
Americas in Panama next month, the United States must redouble our 
commitment to the people of the Caribbean. That is precisely why I am 
introducing this bill today.
  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. Most people I speak to are surprised to learn that 
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 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 votes are extremely important. 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 uses existing embassy construction funding to 
establish these new embassies. In 2011, I authored a bipartisan 
amendment with the former Chairman of the Western Hemisphere 
Subcommittee, Congressman Connie Mack (R-FL), to create these embassies 
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 and to seeing U.S. diplomats 
permanently stationed in every country in the Caribbean.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.

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