New York, NY – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY) released the following statement on today’s dedication of the Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the United Nations Building. Gillibrand and Rangel passed legislation in both chambers of the U.S. Congress designating the building in Ron Brown’s honor.
“Dedicating the United States Mission to the United Nations building in Ron Brown’s honor is a fitting tribute,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Ron Brown, the late Commerce Secretary under the Clinton administration, was a truly remarkable person and outstanding public servant. I am proud that Congress has recognized this important public figure as one of our nation’s greatest ambassadors. This dedication will ensure that his important legacy of expanding economic opportunity, while enhancing America’s reputation around the world, will be passed on to all future members of the United States delegation to the United Nations.”
“As Secretary of Commerce under the Clinton administration, he became one of the greatest ambassadors that the American government ever had abroad,” said Congressman Rangel. “It wasn’t that he was just extending trade and getting people to buy our goods and services. It’s that he was extending love, attention, and sensitivity, especially in the developing countries where we had not spent the time that we should have. He not only sold our wares, but he was able to sell our reputation as a country that wanted to help other countries.
Congressman Rangel added, “I am very gratified that this dedicated public servant – a beloved son of this city and our village of Harlem – will finally be recognized as one of the greatest international salesman that our nation has had in its history.”
Congressman Rangel originally introduced legislation designating a new State Department building in New York City after Ron Brown, the late Commerce Department Secretary and New York resident who died in a 1996 plane crash in Croatia. The legislation passed the House of Representatives in 2009. With the support of Senator Gillibrand, the bill passed the U.S. Senate and was signed by the President later that year.
The new Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the United Nations Building is located at 799 United Nations Plaza across the street from the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly and houses the United States delegation to the U.N.