Mack: President Obama Fails in Leadership with Keystone XL Pipeline and Relations with Cuba

Statement

Chairman Connie Mack (FL-14) of the House Foreign Affairs Western Hemisphere Subcommittee reports on the Sixth Summit of the Americas where he just returned from leading a bipartisan congressional delegation comprised of members from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Homeland Security Committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Ways and Means Committee.

The delegation met with Heads of State, defense and trade ministers and business leaders. Mack did not meet with representatives from any nation aligned with the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), the anti-American organization led by dictator Hugo Chavez.

Mack stated:

"The Sixth Summit of the Americas presented an opportunity for the United States to work with our allies to construct a productive discussion on progress of freedom, security and prosperity in the region. I led a delegation to meet with our allies who want to engage in a dynamic relationship with the United States. For too long, I've watched President Obama neglect our allies in this region, doing serious damage to our reputation and the partnerships critical to our country.

"The summit showed that, while nations like Colombia have stepped up, principled leadership is still lacking. Anti-democratic countries continue to control the message. The desire to lead through the path of least resistance, as was evident in President Santos' approach to the summit, is not true leadership. It is time that we stand together against destructive dictators who tear down the ideals we've worked so hard to achieve.

"After holding meetings on topics including the Keystone XL Pipeline, security cooperation and discussions on the Trans Pacific Partnership and implementation of the free trade agreements, I am encouraged by the tremendous opportunities to benefit our citizens and discourage the Castro brothers in Cuba, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and other authoritarian regimes."

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