Rangel Celebrates Boricua Pride at the National Puerto Rican Day Parade
NEW YORK - Congressman Charles B. Rangel was among the millions of New Yorkers who came out Sunday and flooded Fifth Avenue to celebrate the 15th Annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade

(Media-Newswire.com) - NEW YORK - Congressman Charles B. Rangel was among the millions of New Yorkers who came out Sunday and flooded Fifth Avenue to celebrate the 15th Annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade.

The parade capped a weekend of activities celebrating Boricua pride and culture that included East Harlem's 116th Street Festival on Saturday.

"This is an exciting parade, a day that embodies all the best that is Puerto Rico," said Rangel whose marching contingent included volunteers from East-Harlem based non-profit organization, Positive Workforce. "Not enough can be said about how they have helped not only transform this city, but also open the door for other ethnic and immigrant groups in politics, in education and other fields."

Rangel has been a tireless advocate of the Puerto Rican people both on and off the island for the last 40 years. As Ways and Means Chairman, he fought successful to increase the amount of money that the commonwealth receives in federal funding and for a variety of tax credits to spur small business growth and jobs in the tourist and retail industry.

Rangel said that while the weekend's events are a great reminder of how much has been and continues to be accomplished, more work is left to be done to ensure that the Puerto Rican people have all the tools to improve the lives of their families and their communities.

"If we have millions of American citizens that live in Puerto Rico, we have an obligation to make certain that they get every right and every privilege of any other citizen," said the Congressman. "They should be able to get a good job and a good education right there on that beautiful island. If they have to leave, it should be because they want to, not because they have to."

[QUOTE=Blutarsky]
The HOPE Deception of Haiti

For OpEdNews: Chantal Laurent - Writer


Between 2005 to 2007 the apparel industry of the Dominican Republic was in bad shape. So Charlie Rangel -- who has a superb residence in the Dominican Republic-- introduced legislation to rescue and enrich DR captains. But there was something missing that the earthquake provided. Hence came H.R. 5160 Haiti Economic Lift Program Act of 2010 (HELP). At first, everyone worried about the creation of sweatshop jobs in Haiti. Well, the first to benefit from this bill is not Haiti. Although the bill title leads everyone to believe that it was about Haiti, everywhere in the bill, the real beneficiaries are "Haiti or the Dominican Republic."

Note the bill title: "To extend the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act, to provide customs support services to Haiti, and for other purposes."

Both the Senate and House version of the bill acknowledged that the factories and infrastructure in Haiti were destroyed by the earthquake, so the immediate theater of operations is the Dominican Republic.

There are 168 textile companies in Dominican Republic that are benefiting now from the signing of the HELP Act into law.

In Haiti, there were 24 textile companies before January 12, 2010, but most did not survive the wrath of the quake.



Rangel, the miracle worker for the Dominicans, introduced the bill on 4/28/2010. There was only 40 minutes allocated for debate, enough time for the co-sponsors to speak on behalf of the bill and the measure was passed. Believe it or not, in four weeks, the bill was introduced, voted on and signed into law by the president on 5/24/2010.

It was Congressman Hank Johnson who said something that raised suspicion. He told the speaker of house that the bill will benefit Haiti, the Dominican Republic and their economy. Three weeks earlier, Hank Johnson asked a general if the island of Guam would capsize if the number of soldiers are increased. This time, it was his support of the bill, since there was no recorded vote, which capsized Haiti on the floor of the House. He also let the cat out of the bag. He was the only one of the co-sponsors who mentioned the Dominican Republic on the floor of the House.

Why would a bill design for Haiti/post earthquake be beneficial to the Dominican Republic? Of course, Rangel. Since the president signed the bill into law on 5/24/2010, these companies can now export duty free to the States no matter where the fabric originated from. So the guys in Brazil got their lobbying money's worth and cheap labor. Also, we know that all the big names in clothing in the US have their clothing made in DR.

The president of the DR quietly signed his version of TPS to all Haitians living in the DR. That was probably part of the deal; no more ugly scenes of mass deportations of Haitian nationals from the DR. All Haitians on Dominican soil have a three year permit to stay in the DR legally until they can have permanent residency. All Haitian students in the DR have either a substantial reduction in tuition or free tuition for one year. So the DR gets to keep the labor force in case anyone notices that no Haitian workers benefited from the bill. Rangel successfully rallied members of the black caucus to co-sponsor the bill his retirement package abroad. Since no one asked for a recorded vote, the measure passed with Voice Vote only. So we won't know who else screwed Haiti on the Hill besides the co-sponsors. Well we know, except there is no record of it.

So, although this is a bill to revive Haiti after the quake, there was no mention of it in the media about the president signing the bill into law. The New York Times chose to write about something else. Distrust of the Haitian government and in-fighting within Haitians have always been the tool used to rob Haiti. It is used to empower NGOs and special business interests. In order to overcome the struggle, we must always keep an eye on the money and who stands to benefit from everything. As always, it is rarely the Haitian people. Remember that Brazil was asking for favorable treatment for clothing made in Haiti, but the factories are in the DR. They hired a law firm in DC and they took care of business. Perhaps DC stands for Diabolical Circle and not District of Columbia.

Here are the Senate version and the House version. The language used in both redirect operations to the Dominican Republic, which stands to benefit from the Haiti bill. Note that the bill arrived in the Senate on 5/5/2010 and it passed on 5/6/2010 and I guess they ran to the white house with it before the end of the day.


_________________________________________________
BACKGROUND INFO:


SENATE BILL

[...] (2) The earthquake has devastated Haiti's infrastructure, including homes, offices, factories, roads, ports, communications, and other facilities. The loss of life attributable to the earthquake was massive.

(6) However, the Haitian apparel sector has been hard hit by the January 12, 2010, earthquake. A number of apparel factories based in and around Port-au-Prince have been heavily damaged, including the collapse of one major apparel factory that had employed nearly 4,000 workers.
continued ....he HOPE Deception of Haiti

(7) The Port-au-Prince seaport that had served the apparel trade has been badly damaged. And extensive damage to roads has made it difficult to transport apparel to the Dominican Republic for shipment from ports in that country.

(8) According to estimates by the Department of Commerce, imports of apparel articles from Haiti to the United States in 2010 have decreased by 43 percent as compared to the same period in 2009.

(9) The earthquake has increased significantly the costs and uncertainty of doing business in Haiti. A strong and unequivocal commitment from the United States is needed to help Haiti offset these costs and preserve the gains made under United States trade preference programs, and to encourage buyers and investors to stand with Haiti through this crisis.

[...] SECTION 4. APPAREL AND OTHER ARTICLES SUBJECT TO CERTAIN ASSEMBLY RULES.

[...] (F) CERTAIN OTHER APPAREL ARTICLES-

(i) IN GENERAL- Any of the apparel articles described in clause (ii) that is wholly assembled, or knit-to-shape, in Haiti from any combination of fabrics, fabric components, components knit-to-shape, or yarns and is imported directly from Haiti or the Dominican Republic shall enter the United States free of duty, without regard to the source of the fabric, fabric components, components knit-to-shape, or yarns from which the article is made.



House of Representatives Version (H.R.5160)

SUMMARY AS OF:
5/6/2010--Passed Senate without amendment.
[...] Extends, in each applicable one-year period through FY2020, the duty-free treatment of imported apparel articles made in Haiti or the Dominican Republic.

(Sec. 4) Prescribes duty-free treatment also, without regard to the source of the fabric, fabric components, components knit-to-shape, or yarns from which the article is made, for specified apparel articles or made-up textile articles: (1) wholly assembled, or knit-to-shape, in Haiti from any combination of fabrics, fabric components, components knit-to-shape, or yarns; and (2) imported directly from Haiti or the Dominican Republic.

MAJOR ACTIONS:

4/28/2010

Introduced in House



5/5/2010

Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.



5/6/2010

Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote.



5/6/2010

Cleared for White House.



5/13/2010

Presented to President.



5/24/2010

Signed by President.



5/24/2010

Became Public Law No: 111-171 [Text, PDF]...I WILL POST THE LINK IF YOU WANT IT
[/QUOTE]


[COLOR=#990030]The president of the DR quietly signed his version of TPS to all Haitians living in the DR. That was probably part of the deal; no more ugly scenes of mass deportations of Haitian nationals from the DR. All Haitians on Dominican soil have a three year permit to stay in the DR legally until they can have permanent residency. All Haitian students in the DR have either a substantial reduction in tuition or free tuition for one year. So the DR gets to keep the labor force in case anyone notices that no Haitian workers benefited from the bill. Rangel successfully rallied members of the black caucus to co-sponsor the bill his retirement package abroad. Since no one asked for a recorded vote, the measure passed with Voice Vote only. So we won't know who else screwed Haiti on the Hill besides the co-sponsors. Well we know, except there is no record of it.[/COLOR]

If this is true it have to be in the "TREASON's territory" for Leonel. This is outrageous and sad. I actually can't believe it.

Charlie has been very responsive to his Caribbean constituents over the years.....I will be a long time before the DR --Puerto Rico --USVI -Jamaica etc have such a good friend in Congress

A $6 Billion Tax Subsidy To a British Company in Exchange for 40 Jobs? The latest chapter in Congressional Waste, Abuse and Corruption
By: PR Newswire
Sep. 8, 2010 06:00 PM

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), aided and abetted by Congressman Charlie Rangel, has awarded the wealthy British liquor conglomerate, Diageo, a $6 billion deal to produce rum in their territory. This is one of the most outrageous gifts to a foreign company at the expense of US taxpayers. "This sweetheart deal is nothing more than a 'kick-back' program that gives Diageo a huge financial payday in exchange for being required to only hire only 40 employees," said Robert Deposada, President of Latinos for Reform.

"This deal pays this British conglomerate two times the cost of producing the rum! That means that they could sell the rum for one cent plus the excise tax and still make a lot of money!" Deposada added. American manufacturers of bourbon and whiskey do not enjoy the same sweetheart tax breaks and ingredients subsidies and, in fact, would be undermined if USVI rum producers decided to engage in a liquor price war.

The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and the U.S. Department of Justice need to investigate the possible corruption and abuse in this deal. First, the House Committee should ask Charlie Rangel and his close ally Rep. Donna Christensen (USVI), under oath, if they will be receiving benefits from this sweetheart deal in the years to come. Also, the U.S. Department of Justice investigate whether key players behind this sweetheart deal, from the corrupt USVI Governor all the way to Congressman Rangel and his allies, will receive golden parachutes after all components of this deal are in full effect?

Second, why is Wall Street giddy over the bond deal to raise the initial $250 million to build the distillery for Diageo, when the Virgin Islands makes California look fiscally responsible? Why would the financial analysts believe that there are almost no chances for the Cover Over tax subsidy to be limited or capped in this Congress? The fact is that legislation (H.R. 2122) was introduced before Congress to limit the amount of the tax subsidy revenue that can be paid directly to a rum producing company. The only way analysts would come to that conclusion is if they received private assurances directly from the House Ways and Means Committee then-Chairman Charlie Rangel that no legislation that could affect this subsidy would see the light of day in his committee.

"Considering the initial gifts of the $250 million state-of-the-art distillery, the $50 million 'start-up' funding, the 50 percent Cover Over tax subsidy kick-back, all additional local tax incentives, and the unbelievable subsidy on molasses, one can only conclude that this $6 billion largesse was designed to only benefit the British liquor conglomerate -- at the expense of U.S. taxpayers," Deposada concluded.