Political Quotes

“I rise in support of the trade promotion authority bill which has been debated on the Senate floor the last few days. I begin, though, by complimenting my good friend and colleague from Ohio--one of the most well-respected Members of this body, I think an example of a true American statesman, and certainly one of our best U.S. Trade Representatives who knows a lot about the topic that we have been debating. So I thank him for his tremendous service for the people of Ohio and of our country. The TPA bill we have been debating is going to be good for the country. It will help move our country forward, provide tremendous opportunities for growth and expansion--for our farmers, ranchers, businesses, fishermen, workers, and those in the high-tech sector. As Senator Portman mentioned, 95 percent of all global consumers lie outside of the United States--95 percent. What we need to do is access those consumers to have more opportunity. Currently, it is estimated that over 38 million jobs in the United States are tied to trade. The trade agreements we are talking about on the Senate floor that would come after TPA will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and new opportunities for Americans. These are good jobs, and we need more jobs. This has been one of the weakest recoveries of any major recession in American history. We are barely growing at 1.5 percent, 2 percent GDP growth. These are not traditional levels of American growth. Why?…”