U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) today released the following statement in response to reports that Hosni Mubarak has stepped down as Egypt’s president.

“As I’m watching the developments in Egypt surrounding Hosni Mubarak’s stepping down as the nation’s president, I cannot help but feel an immense pride for the Egyptian people. The public demonstrations the world has watched during the recent days have shown a united resolve among the Egyptian people to take the future of their country into their own hands. It is the basic principle of democracy at work, and it’s beautiful,” said Pascrell, who held two meetings with local Egyptian-Americans in the past week.

“I am so grateful, as I know many Egyptian-Americans are grateful, that the Egyptian people achieved their freedom in a deliberately peaceable manner. The emotionally euphoric scenes of a newly freed people coming out of Cairo should give all Americans pause to reflect on the precious way of life we inherited and must protect for future generations. We, as a nation, should commit ourselves to helping the new nation in Egypt. Now the work begins in creating a free, democratic government that will foster stability in the region.”

###