Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel was named as the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere for the 111th Congress. Rep. Engel was also the Chair of the Subcommittee for the 110th Congress. In addition to the Subcommittee Chairmanship, Rep. Engel was also named a member of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia and the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.

Rep. Engel said, “As Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, I led the effort for the United States to be more engaged in this part of the world with a focus on poverty reduction. We allocated $100 million in hurricane relief to Haiti and the Caribbean. We joined with Brazil to promote biofuels and reduce dependence on oil and passed legislation to fight drug trafficking and violence in Mexico and Central America through the “Merida Initiative.”

“I look forward to working with President Obama and my colleagues in Congress to further our relationship with our friends in Latin America and the Caribbean. There are many challenges still remaining, and I am certain that we will make great strides in the coming year,” added Rep. Engel.

The Middle East and Asia provide many issues and challenges for the United States, as well, and Rep. Engel is pleased to be able to serve on those subcommittees. In the 110th Congress, he sponsored the resolution condemning Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel and fully supporting Israel’s right to self defense against Hamas’ aggression.

“It is vital that we continue to support Israel as a bastion of democracy and the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East. These regions are also home to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which require immediate attention and a workable plan to withdraw our forces from Iraq and focus on Afghanistan. The challenges are many, but I look forward to working on them on behalf of the American people,” said Rep. Engel.

“I am very proud of my committee assignments as they reflect a bit of a cross section of my district. I represent large populations of Haitian, Jamaican, and other Caribbean-Americans, along with a substantial Indian-American and Bangladeshi populations in the Bronx and Rockland County. Although I am no longer on the Europe Subcommittee, I will continue my work in the Balkans and in Northern Ireland – two other regions that make up much of my district’s ethnicity,” said Rep. Engel.