Pelosi Remarks Before Meeting With President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia

WASHINGTON, May 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congresswoman Nita Lowey and Senator Patrick Leahy, House and Senate Chairs of the Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, held a brief press availability this afternoon with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia prior to their meeting in the Capitol.  Below is a transcript of the press availability:

Speaker Pelosi.  Good afternoon.  It is with great excitement and joy that I have the privilege of welcoming President Sirleaf back to the Capitol.  We all were in awe of her magnificent address to a joint session of Congress a few years ago. 

I first met President Sirleaf in Liberia.  And when I went to Liberia, I said that her election electrified the nation and now, as Americans, we wanted to help truly electrify the nation helping with power for Liberia.  And I know that President Sirleaf has made great progress in that direction.  Though I only met her several years ago after she became President, my admiration for her has lasted many years, where as an educator and as a leader in the World Bank and the rest, she acquired quite a reputation.  Her speech to the Congress was one of the best we ever heard, and one that was very memorable.

Here we stand together to extend our welcome—I am with my colleague, Chairwoman Nita Lowey of New York, the Chair of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee of Appropriations.  And we stand with President Sirleaf in her efforts to pursue stability, economic growth, and democratic governance for the Liberian people.  

As the first woman elected to lead an African nation, President Sirleaf is an inspiration to women everywhere, men too – a woman revered by her people and determined to make progress.

During her term in office, President Sirleaf has made progress for her country through a difficult post-war peace and reconciliation process: Liberia's security situation is currently stable; the economy and the humanitarian conditions on the ground, including the electricity sector, have significantly improved under her leadership; and Liberia is scheduled to hold a second free and fair election in 2011.

Substantial challenges remain, but President Sirleaf has stayed true to Liberia's national motto: "The Love of Liberty Brought Us Here."

As you know, the United States and Liberia have a relationship that is as old as both of our countries.  The United States has a clear interest in building a brighter future, working with President Sirleaf and the citizens of Liberia.  And I look forward to working with her on the critical issues confronting her nation for years to come.

I would like to yield to my colleague, Congresswoman Nita Lowey for any comments of welcome she may have.

Chairwoman Lowey.  It is always an honor and a privilege to join my distinguished Speaker in welcoming guests to the Capitol.  And it is a special privilege for us both to welcome President Johnson Sirleaf.

I had the privilege of visiting Liberia several years ago and to think, Madam President, that in seven years, the children growing up have been able to grow up, get an education, and live in peace.  That is probably, Madam President, one of the greatest achievements after so much strife and so much heartache and so many lives senselessly lost.  You have been able to bring your leadership to bear and give the people of Liberia hope.  Your turning the electricity on; your providing seeds and agriculture assistance so that individual families can truly have their own source of living.  You are providing education, not only for the young people, but giving them the opportunity to gain higher education as you open new centers of learning and universities.  

I am so proud to welcome you here to the United States of America.  And you can be assured that working together, we will continue to be partners, so that Liberia continues to thrive and that you can truly be a light unto all the nations and show all your brethren how to raise up the people and provide a great, great future for all.  

So thank you so much for your leadership.  I'm honored to join the Speaker here today.

Speaker Pelosi.  Madam President.

President Sirleaf.  Speaker Pelosi, Congresswoman Lowey, I come on behalf of the Liberian people to express our thanks and appreciation for the support that you and your colleagues have continued to give to Liberia as we strive to achieve our development goals.  

You have made a major investment in the future of our country through your support, and I come to report to you that significant progress has been made and bring to you the return on that investment—return in terms of peace and security, our nation is now enjoying its seventh year of peace; return in terms of the opening up of our economy, all of our productive sectors are now being put to work again, and that should enable us to have the resources to finance our development; return in terms of governance and a rule of law with an open society where human rights are respected and where there is all a basic fundamental freedoms are enjoyed in our society; returns on the improvement in our infrastructure, our schools, and our clinics, and our light, and our water, all that are being restored to a population denied from that in two decades. 

We owe you a lot.  We will continue to build on that progress and consolidate our peace, and we are determined that Liberia will become a post-conflict success story of which you can be proud and you can take credit for what you have done to enable us to achieve that goal.   

Speaker Pelosi.  Thank you very much, Madam President.  I see the distinguished Chairman of the Senate Foreign Operation Committee of Appropriations is here.  Would you like to join us?  Would you like to join us in welcoming President Sirleaf?

Chairman Leahy. I am one American who is very, very proud of the President and what she has done to not only restore stability in her country, but to show a sense of democracy and a rule of law.  I think she is one of the most extraordinary people I have met. 

Speaker Pelosi.  Thank you.  Would you like to join us, Mr. Chairman?

Thank you all.

SOURCE Office of the Speaker of the House