Dominican Ambassador Honors Representative Rangel

July 14, 2016 

Press Release

The following article was orignially published by Listin Diario on July 14, 2016.

Washington, DC: Dominican Republic Ambassador to the U.S., José Tomás Pérez, recognized Congressman Charles Rangel for his contributions to the Dominican community in New York and for expanding the relationship between the Dominican Republic and the United States.

Congressman Rangel has been the representative for the 13th Congressional District in New York since 1971. He is a founder of the Congressional Black Caucus and the first African American to be Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.

He is one of the most influential legislators in the United States for his leadership in promoting civil and human rights.

Throughout his career, he has been a great friend of the Dominican Republic and has strengthened the U.S.-Dominican relations at the cultural and commercial level.

Congressman Rangel helped the Dominican Republic, the largest trading partner of the United States in the region, to be included in the negotiations for the Central American Free Trade Agreement, known as DR-CAFTA.

As a representative of a district with a significant Dominican population, Rangel has commemorated the achievement and the rich culture of the almost 2 million people of Dominican descent in the United States, with more than 700,000 residing in the city of New York. The ceremony took place at the residence of the Dominican Ambassador in Washington and in attendance were members of Congressman Rangel’s family, the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the Organization of American States, Pedro Vergès; the representative to the International Monetary Fund, Frank Fuentes; the representative to the World Bank, Jaime Alvarez, Embassy staff and special guests.