As one of the most powerful people in the capital of the richest nation on earth, it wouldn’t have been surprising if Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) felt out of place while visiting the capital of one of the world’s poorest countries.

But the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee couldn’t have felt more at home when he and two colleagues spent three days in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, earlier this month. In fact, Oberstar knows the impoverished Caribbean nation of 9 million people almost as well as his northern Minnesota district. Continue Reading