In the News

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO - Prime Minister Dr the Hon. Keith Rowley is calling for greater cooperation between American and Caribbean Banks.

Dr Rowley made the call while speaking at the opening of the Roundtable Discussion on De-Risking and Correspondent Banking held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre in Bridgetown, Barbados today (Wednesday 20th April, 2022).

The Prime Minister said, "We believe that there is great progress to be made from doing business with us and the facts will support that not the fiction, not the discrimination, not the disrespect. It is possible that Caribbean banks can become and we must become an integral part of the American banking system and by extension the world global banking system."

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley beleives greater cooperation between American and Caribbean banks will benefit business for both regions.

Dr Rowley made the call while speaking at the opening of the Roundtable Dicussion on De-Risking and Correspondent Banking hekd at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre in Bridgetown, Barbados.

The Prime Minister said: "We believe that there is great progress to be made from doing business with us and the facts will support that not the fiction, not the discrimination, not the disrespect. It is possible that Caribbean banks can become and we must become an integral part of the American banking system and by extension the world global banking system"

The event is being co-chaired by the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley and Congresswoman Maxine Waters ( D-CA), Chairwoman of the US House Committee on Financial Services.

WASHINGTON — Tucked into the folds of the federal government's latest $1.5 trillion spending bill lies more than $280 million to fund initiatives for Texans. Those projects range from expanding the San Antonio police department's mental health unit and improving flood mitigation in coastal counties to planting a sustainable community garden at a high school and building a Gandhi museum in Houston.

The money comes from a federal budgeting practice known as earmarking, in which members of Congress request direct funding to their local districts. The practice was banned by Republicans after they won control of Congress during the 2010 midterm election, citing fiscal responsibility, but this past year, Democrats brought the practice back with some additional safeguards in place.

On April 20, Chairwoman of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, Maxine Waters (D-CA), joined Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley to co-host a Caribbean Financial Access Roundtable at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Center in Barbados. The full-day roundtable focused on concrete proposals to tackle the challenges that small island states face due to the continued reduction of the availability of trade and financial services for their economies and people. In addition to Prime Minister Mottley, several CARICOM Heads of Government participated as did the CARICOM and OECS Secretaries-General. Senior representatives of U.S., Canadian, and Caribbean financial institutions also contributed as did industry experts from the Caribbean and the U.S.

A delegation of six members of the U.S. Congress arrived to Barbados April 18 and 19 to reinforce the strong U.S.-Barbadian bilateral relationship and explore opportunities to expand access to financial services and banking in the Caribbean. The congressional delegation, led by the Chairwoman of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, Maxine Waters (D-CA), includes Representatives Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Troy Carter (D-LA), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), and Stacy Plaskett (D-VI). The Congressional delegation began their three-day visit by meeting with Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley on April 19. Their other engagements will include a roundtable on financial inclusion with CARICOM government representatives and U.S.

Sunny Bryant has been busy lately working to advocate for equality and justice for transgender children like herself who have been targeted by Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas lawmakers in anti-trans legislation.

But on Monday the now 9-year old Houston activist got to take a break from the fight for transgender kids' rights to roll colorful eggs on the South Lawn of the White House as part of its famed Easter Egg roll.

The whole experience "felt like a gift," her mother said, noting that after all kids like her have been through recently, it was "something we earned."

WASHINGTON, April 15 -- Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, issued the following news release:

Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (TX-29) applauded President Joe Biden's executive order to bring down the cost of health insurance and expand health coverage to more Texans. The executive order is the most significant action to strengthen the Affordable Care Act (ACA) since it was signed into law 12 years ago by President Barack Obama.

Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (TX-29) applauded President Joe Biden's executive order to bring down the cost of health insurance and expand health coverage to more Texans. The executive order is the most significant action to strengthen the Affordable Care Act (ACA) since it was signed into law 12 years ago by President Barack Obama.

"President Biden has taken a bold step forward to expand health coverage and bring down costs for Texans across the Lone Star State", said Congresswoman Garcia. "This executive order will significantly lower health coverage costs for nearly one million Americans who only have unaffordable coverage options at work. On top of that, it extends health insurance to 200,000 uninsured Americans. This is remarkable news and I look to seeing more Texans access high-quality medical insurance."