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I acknowledge your assistance and relationship, and I commend your nerve of conviction to speak the truth to power even when it is tough. These countries that selected to abstain from voting or voted against the resolution at the OAS relating to the circumstance in Venezuela, I want you to know that your decision just enhances injustice and tyranny in the Americas.
It is my.
hope that you will reevaluate how your vote on these kind of concerns in the future. Eventually, we all have an obligation to actively safeguard liberty in get more info the Americas, but that can just require really tough choices. Mr. Sires. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for collaborating on this hearing, and I want to thank the witnesses for being here today. Thank you quite. The Caribbean is often referred to as America's 3rd border and I concur with this description. With practically 45 million individuals incorporating 16 independent nations and 14 abroad areas, the Caribbean is a varied area that consists of a few of the hemisphere's richest.
and poorest nations. It is a region of great financial and cultural, political and security ties to the United States. The U.S.-Caribbean relationship is identified by comprehensive economic linkages, significant security cooperation, and continued U.S. Over the previous 3 years, the administration has put forth a new effort supporting energy diversity and tidy, sustainable energy tasks to improve the area's energy security and to assist it move far from its dependence on oil from Venezuela. Venezuela, which has long subsidized energy expenses to many Latin American and Caribbean countries, should turn inward to rescue itself from financial and political collapse. In the middle of these troubling times we need to work.
with our Caribbean partners to diversify energy sources, reinforce their economies, http://elliotwioc190.huicopper.com/facts-about-what-is-a-basis-point-in-finance-uncovered and build upon a shared security interest. On the legal front, last month your home authorized H (How to finance an engagement ring).R. Which of the following can be described as involving direct finance. This act is designed to increase engagement with the Caribbean that needs the Secretary of State to send a multiyear strategy to Congress for U.S. engagement with the Caribbean areas and upgrade on its U.S. diplomatic effort to engage the eastern Caribbean countries. As a worldwide power, the United States deals with difficulties and threats from every corner of the world. Nevertheless, it is essential that we remain participated in the Western Hemisphere and not forget our interests so close to house. I anticipate speaking with our witnesses on how the U.S. efforts in the Caribbean can improve and how America can continue to strengthen its collaboration with our Caribbean next-door neighbors. Mr. Duncan. I will thank the ranking member, and I will simply say I do not understand the number of other members we are going to have today. We have adjourned for the August recess break and we wished to continue. Knowing that we were going to adjourn, we were willing to continue with this hearing because that is how essential it is to the ranking member and myself, so do not believe since no other members show up that it isn't an important problem to the committee and to the subcommittee. And I look forward to hearing from the witnesses who are extremely well understood to the.
committee so their bios are offered to us, and I will recognize Eric Farnsworth for 5 minutes. ERIC FARNSWORTH, VICE PRESIDENT, COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS AND AMERICAS SOCIETY Mr. Farnsworth. Well, Mr. Chairman, thank you quite for continuing with the hearing on such a crucial subject. Thank you for your leadership overall on these issues along with the Caribbean specifically, and Mr. Ranking Member, you too. It is really essential to have a bipartisan voice on these problems and we keep in mind that. We take fulfillment in that and thank you for that leadership, and we ask that that would continue in some method provided the importance of the concerns at hand. The United States does have tactical problems.
in the Caribbean Basin and we don't typically speak about it in that way, however in my view they are tactical, from assistance for democratic institutions-- some of which are quite vulnerable; a few of which are strong and enduring-- we have security interests including drug trafficking, counterterrorism, the battle versus financial criminal activities, obviously immigration and humanitarian concerns, energy, the environment, financial development; it is a really vast array of issues to which the United States has interest. Mr. Sires. Thank you. Mr. Chairman. Mr. You can find out more Duncan. The Chair will now go to Mr. Yoho from Florida. Mr. Yoho. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate you putting this together, and I wish to thank you for putting the pivot on our neighbors in the Caribbean. As you have specified which we have actually seen, and it is not just this administration, it is most likely over the last 20 or thirty years where we have taken our eye off the ball in the Caribbean. When we have nation states that near us with like cultures, you understand, we value the same things, our household worths, things like that, that near to us, and we take the eye off of that we start losing our competitiveness and we have actually seen that.
And it is so important down because location and we desire people, you know, number one is to be safe in that area. And with the conflicts going on worldwide we do not desire them to attack in that location and sadly, we are beginning to see that. And I believe among the most significant things is President Maduro, after Chavez, seeing what is going on in Venezuela. And we have actually seen in the past, when you have self-appointed dictators that pertain to power and when they fall there is a vacuum filled. We have actually seen that worldwide.