Congressman Charles B. Rangel released the following statement Tuesday moments after President Barack Obama announced his intention to nominate current U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals Justice Sonia Sotomayor:

President Obama has once again made the right choice in nominating Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice David Souter for the Supreme Court. Her nomination is a great source of pride, as a New Yorker, as a lawyer and a legislator that represents so many Puerto Ricans and Latinos in and out of my Congressional District.

Judge Sotomayor brings a tremendous wealth of personal and professional knowledge to the nation's highest court, a candidate that can see legal issues from both a theoretical and practical standpoint. A proud women of Puerto Rican heritage, she worked hard to go from the projects of the South Bronx to the prestigious halls of Princeton University and Yale Law School, never forgetting the family and community that supported her as she reached these heights. Whether it was as an assistant prosecutor, a corporate attorney or a district judge, she has performed at the highest level of professionalism while always striving to ensure that the law is applied equally and fairly.

Judge Sotomayor brings more than 15 years of experience as a federal judge and a real-life perspective to the court. Her trailblazing story is a classic American tale, the kind of story that parents tell their newborns as they swaddle them goodnight. That she should be considered for this prestigious post is not surprising, given her qualifications. That her nomination be placed before the Senate is the kind of bold leadership that we have come to expect from this White House. The kind of inclusive decision-making that is moving this country in the right direction for all its people.

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Tells Crime Subcommittee That Decades-Old Policy "Isn't Working."

Congressman Charles Rangel today brought his case for ending the disparity in cocaine sentencing to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. He told the panel that the current 1986 law − which mandates the same 5-year sentence for possession of 5 grams of crack as it does for 500 grams of powder − has failed as a deterrent, and instead, has unfairly condemned many to unreasonably long prison sentences.

Excessively punitive mandatory minimums for crack offenses have led to disproportionate rates of incarceration for Blacks and Hispanics. The Obama Administration last month renewed its call to eliminate the disparity entirely.

"This is a remarkable time in our nation's history. We now have a president who doesn't think how we acted in the past should determine how we move forward in the future," Rangel told the subcommittee. "This policy isn't working. It's not working for Blacks; it's not working for minorities − it's not working for this country."

Congressman Rangel touted his bill, The Crack-Cocaine Equitable Sentencing Act of 2009, as a way to inject fairness and equity into federal cocaine sentencing. It would remove the mandatory minimum for simple possession of crack − the only such mandatory minimum of its kind − and increase all other crack triggers to powder cocaine levels, resulting in a 1:1 ratio.

Advocacy groups in the audience distributed candy bars before the hearing, highlighting the fact that offenders caught with the weight of one candy bar in crack cocaine get an automatic 10 years in prison. Republican Congressman Roscoe Bartlett and Democratic Congresswomen Sheila Jackson-Lee and Maxine Waters joined Congressman Rangel on the panel to testify in support of eliminating the disparity.

This country houses over 2.2 million prisoners in its jails − that means more than 1 in 100 Americans adults are behind bars. Congressman Rangel pointed to our burgeoning prison population, the most in the world by far, as proof that in addition to the injustice, choosing incarceration over rehabilitation makes little fiscal sense. The United States spends an estimated $60 billion each year on corrections.

"Locking people in jail doesn't make any monetary sense; it doesn't make any social justice sense," Rangel said. "The whole system, I would hope, the President and attorney general would want to address. What a message that would send to America and to the world."

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In light of recent steps by the President, overhaul of failed policy is crucial.

Congressman Charles B. Rangel welcomes today the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, representatives from the American private sector, and a bipartisan panel of his colleagues in Congress to discuss a way forward for improving U.S. relations with Cuba. Congressman Rangel applauds President Obama's decision to ease travel restrictions on Cuban Americans and his willingness to have open dialogue with the island nation. In light of this progress, Rangel says we now have the unprecedented opportunity to acknowledge that our decades-old policy has failed and that a fresh approach is needed, one that affords every American the right to travel there freely and allows American businesses to sell there.

"The recent moves from the Obama Administration are great first steps in the right direction. It is too much of a sacrifice to ask from our people − in particular our Cuban descendent brothers and sisters − to forego funerals, weddings, births, and death-bed invitations on an island just 90 miles away," Rangel said. "But the right to travel freely is a fundamentally American right, and for half a century and still, our citizens are being denied it. Unfettered travel for our all of citizens has nothing to do with the politics on the island. It has everything to do with basic freedoms, common sense, and ultimately, compassion."

For fifty years, the U.S. has employed the same tactics and not seen any advances for the Cuban or American people. The trade embargo has been a godsend to a Cuban government that uses it as a scapegoat for its errors. The embargo has drawn ire from both religious leaders and political dissidents on the island because it makes their fight for democracy that much harder. Ending the embargo and normalizing relations with Cuba would enhance our standing on the global stage, particularly in this part of the hemisphere, a sentiment made clear at the Organization of American States conference held last month.

"The last thing we should be doing, particularly in this time of economic calamity, is to bar our people from trade and travel with Cuba," Rangel said. "There's no winning with the current policy."

U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donahue joins Congressman Marion Berry (D-AR), Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX), Congressman William Delahunt (D-MA), Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D-MD), Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO), Congressman Sam Farr (D-CA), Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), Congressman Jerry Moran (R-KS), Congresswoman Laura Richardson (D-CA), Congressman José Serrano (D-NY), and Congressman Jon Yarmuth (D-KY) at the event.

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Congressman Charles Rangel joined millions of Latinos and other Americans Tuesday in celebrating Cinco de Mayo. The day, which marks the historic triumph of the Mexican people over the French Army in the battle of Puebla, has grown to be an important day for all people of Mexican heritage, particularly those living in the United States.

"At a time when some people still question the value of diversity and immigration, I can think of no better day to remember the rich cultural, economic and social contributions that the Mexican people have made and continue to make to this land," said Rangel.

New York City has seen a surge of Mexican immigration in the last decade, making the ethnic group the third largest immigrant group in the Big Apple. Many of them have settled in Rangel's 15th Congressional District, especially in section known as East Harlem or El Barrio.

"They have come to write a story that is as old as this city itself and have added their own flavor to what makes this city great," said Rangel. "They are not just part of our workforce, but also the social fabric of our neighborhoods -- our churches, our schools, our community organizations."

On May 5, 1862, an ill-prepared, outnumbered Mexican army defeated an invading army of professional French soldiers at The Battle of Puebla. The victory is seen by many historians as not only cementing Mexican independence, but also sending a message to all European powers that they would not be able to re-colonize the Western Hemisphere.

It's a message of hope that Rangel says is as useful today as it was centuries ago.

"We live at a time of great challenges, a time where people are wondering whether we can overcome the economic obstacles that lie before us. At this crucial time in our history, we can all draw inspiration on how the Mexican people prevailed against all odds to not just save their country, but keep the light of freedom burning bright in this hemisphere."

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