May 28, 2008

Senator Dodd and Representative Becerra Visit Bolivia

From left to right: Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca, U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd, Bolivian Vice President Alvaro García Linera, U.S. Representative Xavier Becerra, and U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia Philip Goldberg.

U.S. Senator Chris Dodd and U.S. Representative Xavier Becerra visited Bolivia on May 28, as part of a tour of the region.  The goal of the visit was to learn more about the country.  During their visit, the Congressmen met with Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera.
Connecticut’s Chris Dodd is a senior Democratic leader in the United States Senate. Senator Dodd is currently Chairman of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. He serves as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Narcotics. He is a senior member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and is the Chairman of its Children and Families Subcommittee. He also is a member of the Rules and Administration Committee.
Answering John F. Kennedy’s call to service, Senator Dodd joined the Peace Corps, serving in the rural Dominican Republic village of Moncion from 1966 to 1968, where he became fluent in Spanish. As a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he is a recognized expert on Latin and South America and has worked to foster peace, prosperity and democracy abroad.

Senator Dodd and Representative Becerra at the press conference they offered at the Bolivian Vice President’s Office on May 28, 2008.

First elected to the House of Representatives in 1992, Representative Xavier Becerra is Assistant to the Speaker of the House and is the only member from Southern California currently serving on the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means. As Assistant to the Speaker, Rep. Becerra wields a strong voice in House Leadership, helping to set priorities and drive the legislative decision making process.
The first Latino to serve on the Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Becerra has used his position to increase opportunities for working families, to improve the Social Security program for women and minorities, to combat poverty among the working poor, and to strengthen Medicare and ensure its long-term viability. Rep. Becerra currently serves on the Health, Oversight, and Social Security subcommittees. He is also a member of the House Committee on Budget, which oversees the federal budget process.