Half a dozen lawmakers will travel with
Barack Obama to Kenya and Ethiopia next week in what is the president’s first
trip to his ancestral homeland since being elected.
The White House invited a large
contingent of lawmakers, prominently members of the Congressional Black Caucus,
to join him on the Africa trip. Reps. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), Cedric Richmond
(D-La.), G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Emanuel Cleaver
(D-Mo.) will attend.
The trip marks the first time a sitting
president has traveled to Ethiopia. While in that country, Obama will attend
the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit and meet with African Union leaders.
Butterfield said he planned to use the
trip to stress to Kenyan and Ethiopian officials Congress’ commitment to them
as trade, national security and diplomatic partners.
“Kenya is a strategic partner and they
have some unique challenges and certainly Ethiopia does too. They need to be
reassured that America is an ally and that we care about the continent in its
entirety,” said Butterfield, who chairs the CBC.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
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