I recognize your support and relationship, and I commend your guts of conviction to speak the reality to power even when it is hard. These countries that chose to avoid voting or voted versus the resolution at the OAS relating to the scenario in Venezuela, I desire you to understand that your choice just enhances injustice and tyranny in the Americas.
It is my.
hope that you will reassess how your vote on these kind of problems in the future. Eventually, we all have an obligation to actively safeguard freedom in the Americas, however that can just require very difficult options. Mr. Sires. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for working together on this hearing, and I want to thank the witnesses for being here today. Thank you quite. The Caribbean is frequently explained as America's third border and I concur with this description. With almost 45 million people incorporating 16 independent countries and 14 overseas territories, the Caribbean is a diverse area that consists of some of the hemisphere's richest.
and poorest nations. It is a region of terrific economic and cultural, political and security ties to the United States. The U.S.-Caribbean relationship is characterized 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 diversification and tidy, sustainable energy projects to enhance the area's energy security and to assist it move away from its reliance on oil from Venezuela. Venezuela, which has long subsidized energy costs to numerous Latin American and Caribbean countries, should turn inward to save itself from economic and political collapse. In the middle of these unpleasant times we need to work.
with our Caribbean partners to diversify energy sources, reinforce their economies, and construct upon a shared security interest. On the legislative front, last month the Home approved H (How to finance a second home).R. How to finance building a home. This act is developed to increase engagement with the Caribbean that requires the Secretary of State to submit a multiyear strategy to Congress for U.S. engagement with the Caribbean areas and update on its U.S. diplomatic effort to engage the eastern Caribbean nations. As a worldwide power, the United States faces challenges and risks from every corner of the world. Nevertheless, it is important that we stay engaged in the Western Hemisphere and not forget our interests so near home. I eagerly anticipate speaking with our witnesses on how the U.S. efforts in the Caribbean can enhance and how America can continue to strengthen its collaboration with our Caribbean neighbors. Mr. Duncan. I will thank the ranking member, and I will simply state I don't understand the number of other members we are going to have today. We have adjourned for the August recess break and we wanted to continue. Understanding that we were going to adjourn, we were prepared to continue with this hearing since that is how crucial it is to the ranking member and myself, so don't believe since no other members appear 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.
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committee so their bios are available View website 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 an important topic. Thank you for your management overall on these issues in addition to the Caribbean specifically, and Mr. Ranking Member, you too. It is truly essential to have a bipartisan voice on these concerns and we note that. We take complete satisfaction in that and thank you for that management, and we ask that that would continue in some way provided the value of the issues at hand. The United States does have strategic problems.
in the Caribbean Basin https://zenwriting.net/daroneaomr/youand-39-re-not-going-to-take-a-danger and we do not often talk about it because way, but in my view they are strategic, from assistance for democratic organizations-- a few of which are quite delicate; a few of which are strong and long-lasting-- we have security interests consisting of drug trafficking, counterterrorism, the fight against monetary criminal activities, certainly immigration and humanitarian concerns, energy, the environment, financial development; it is a really large range of problems to which the United States has interest. Mr. Sires. Thank you. Mr. Chairman. Mr. 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 stated and that we have seen, and it is not simply this administration, it is probably over the last 20 or 30 years where we have taken our eye off the ball in the Caribbean. When we have country states that near us with like cultures, you know, we value the exact same things, our family worths, things like that, that near us, and we take the eye off of that we begin losing our competitiveness and we have actually seen that.
And it is so essential down because area and we desire people, you understand, top is to be safe and secure because area. And with the disputes going on worldwide we do not desire them to get into in that area and unfortunately, we are beginning to see that. And I believe one of the biggest things is President Maduro, after Chavez, seeing what is going on in Venezuela. And we have seen in the past, when you have self-appointed totalitarians that come to power and when they fall there is a vacuum filled. We have actually seen that around the world.