Pelosi Remarks Before Meeting With President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador

WASHINGTON, March 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Howard Berman, and Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus Xavier Becerra held a brief press availability this afternoon with El Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes prior to their meeting in the Capitol. Below is a transcript of the press availability:

Speaker Pelosi. Good afternoon. It is a special occasion indeed for us, my colleagues, Congressman Howard Berman, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and a member of our leadership: Congressman Xavier Becerra, both of California, Xavier being the Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus, to welcome the President of El Salvador to the Capitol of the United States.

We have been blessed in our country by many people whose ancestry springs from El Salvador, making America a stronger place. We want to work together for the reduction of poverty, for promoting clean energy as we create jobs to go into the future, for improving security in our hemisphere and for strengthening of trade partnership. We look forward to speaking with the President today on that score.

As I mentioned, El Salvadoran American families have contributed to the vibrancy of many communities across America including here in Washington, D.C. and in my home state of California, that's for sure. Their entrepreneurial spirit in many contributions to American life have enriched the fabric of America.

I look forward to discussing these and a wide range of issues with President Funes today, and I would like to invite him to say a few words. He is here with his wife and the Foreign Minister of El Salvador.

Mr. President.

President Funes. (In Spanish) Good afternoon, friends of the press. I thank Mrs. Pelosi for the invitation to the Capitol, which is an expression of the sovereign power of the people of the United States, in order to have a conversation about important common matters to both the United States and Central America, particularly El Salvador. I admire the leadership that Mrs. Pelosi represents, and of course, I am greatly pleased by the importance Congress has given to the problems encountered by the Hispanic and Salvadoran community that resides and works in the United States.

As I have mentioned on several occasions, around 400,000 Salvadorans live in Washington D.C. They formed the first Hispanic Community in the capital, and on national scale one third of our population is living and working in the United States. Yesterday, President Obama publicly acknowledged the hard work of the Salvadoran people, and he said he felt satisfied and proud of the presence of Salvadoran community in the United States, whose contribution to this country is invaluable.

We will discuss an agenda that filled with different topics of mutual interest to both nations. I, of course, bring a message from El Salvador: an affectionate greeting from the Salvadoran people and a message of fraternity given that we share the same interests and values. The United States is a nation that has fought for democracy, a nation which has also fought to make the whole world a better place for everyone, and we, as a government, are within that community and share those values. We believe in democracy, in the strengthening of institutions, and in achieving higher levels of wellness for our people. Hence, we hope to have a positive meeting and I reiterate how grateful we are to Mrs. Pelosi, for extending this invitation.

Speaker Pelosi. Xavier, did you want to share some thoughts of your own? And maybe repeat some of what the President has said?

Vice Chair Becerra. Sure. Xavier Becerra from California. Let me just mention that the President, I won't try to translate all of it, but essentially what he said is that for the country of El Salvador, which is experiencing a historic celebration of democracy that it is a treat and honor for them to be able to come visit with the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to continue to build on the relationships between these two very close friends and partners.

And I wanted to echo that as well. So Mr. President and to the First Lady of El Salvador, we want to express our best wishes as you visit the United States.

(In Spanish) Mr. President, to you and to the First Lady, we want to say welcome to the United States. Above all, for a lot of us, it's an honor to invite you here to this House, the people's House, because for a lot of us of Latino heritage, it's more than a dream to see that a hardworking population, like that of El Salvador, not only has exceeded many difficulties, but is now showing the people of the world that El Salvador not only wants to see democracy survive, but also wants to see it grow and serve as example for the rest of the world. For a lot of us, children of immigrants, we understand very well El Salvador's most important matters and we also understand very well what has to be done here, as leaders of the United States, in order to work with a partner and a friend, which is El Salvador, serving as democracies side by side. Thus, one more time, many thanks, Mr. President, for taking time to be here with us and for visiting and we hope to work together for a long time in the future.

Thank you, Mr. President and the First Lady, for their visit. We look forward to working together as these two democracies in the Western Hemisphere look to find ways to build on common ground and continue to elevate the opportunity and prosperity of the peoples of the Americas.

Speaker Pelosi. Chairman Berman.

Chairman Berman. Well, thank you very much, Madam Speaker and Mr. President, I join the Speaker and Congressman Becerra in welcoming you here.

You should know that you have a lot of friends in the Congress of the United States. We think about El Salvador 20 years ago and the terrible conflict and then the taking hold of democracy. But the real test of democracy taking hold comes when you could have a successful transition of power from one political party to another, and your election last year manifested that indeed in El Salvador democracy has taken hold. And since you have become President, you have over and over demonstrated great leadership there.

I feel like our relationship with El Salvador has never been closer and I am honored to have a chance to meet you personally and am glad you were able to come to Washington.  

SOURCE Office of the Speaker of the House