Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise today with my colleagues to talk about trade and the importance of trade and specifically to talk about three pending trade agreements. And when I say ``pending,'' man alive, am I emphasizing ``pending.'' These agreements have been around a very long time. And I am referring to Korea, Panama, and Colombia. We all know the benefits of trade in the United States. In Nebraska, my home State, more than 19,000 jobs and more than $5.5 billion in revenue were directly tied to exports last year. In trade discussions, we often hear about the need to level the playing field. Well, these agreements do exactly that. They eliminate tariffs and a whole host of other barriers on most agricultural products, including products that are important to my State: beef, corn, soybeans, and pork. No doubt about it, they increase the economic opportunities for Nebraska farmers and ranchers, for businesses and for workers. Well, for 3 years, we have heard the President say the right thing. In fact, every time he would say something about this, I thought, finally, the trade agreements are going to bust loose and we are going to have an opportunity to vote on them. He said in last year's State of the Union: If America sits on the sidelines while other Nations sign trade deals, we will lose the chance to create jobs on our shores.…”