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Massachusetts Congressman Richard Neal + Congressional Delegation Conclude Visit to United Kingdom


Congressman Neal + Delegation in front of the Leinster House in Dublin, with Sinn Fein's Marylou McDonald and US Ambassador Claire Cronin

(May 23, 2022) - House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) released the following statement after the Congressional delegation concluded its time in the United Kingdom:

“Our Congressional delegation came to the United Kingdom to reaffirm our bond with one of our oldest allies. Since Russia invaded Ukraine without provocation, we have been in lockstep with the UK in our support for the Ukrainian people. We met with Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer, as well as other members of Parliament, to discuss how we will continue to use any tool at our disposal to stop this war. We underscored our commitment to the Good Friday Agreement in bilateral meetings with British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Trade Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan.

“We conveyed to our UK allies that negotiations with the EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol must continue in good faith and with urgency.

“As we travel to Ireland, we are guided by the economic and strategic cooperation between our two countries that is strengthened by cultural ties and mutual affinity. We look forward to meeting with the President and the Taoiseach, the Foreign Minister, political leaders, and other stakeholders to further this partnership and to demonstrate our unwavering bipartisan commitment to preserving the Good Friday Agreement.”  

The delegation met with Ireland's Taoiseach Micheal Martin, US Ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin, Sinn Fein's Marylou McDonald and various other officials. 

In addition, Congressman Neal also returned to the Blasket Islands off the coast of County Kerry, where his maternal ancestors came from originally.  His family emigrated to Springfield in western Massachusetts, a place where many Blasket Islanders and Kerry folks made a new life in the United States.   Neal's paternal grandmother came from County Down.  




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