Political Quotes

“It is now my distinct pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the author of this legislation, the active, distinguished gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio). Mr. DeFAZIO. I thank the chairman. It's interesting to hear some Republicans on the other side of the aisle say this commission isn't necessary. We are going to run a $700 billion trade deficit this year. That means we will borrow, predominantly from China, Japan, and a few other countries, $700 billion to buy things that we used to make in America. And it's not a level playing field. We get played for a sucker in these trade deals. We need a new, strong trade policy. Yes, American workers can compete, but not on an unfair, tilted playing field, which is what they're being asked to do today. I will give a couple of examples. When we were doing MFN permanently for China, which I voted against because we lost that annual leverage with them, wheat guys from Oregon came in, and they said, Congressman, right now a ship is going into China. Imagine what it's going to mean for our markets. They're finally accepting our wheat. This new trade deal's going to be great. I said, Well, actually, I have got translated broadcasts of their agriculture minister that say that they're not going to allow that, and they're not going to become dependent upon imported food. They said, Oh, no, you are wrong. So, yeah, that one ship got in.…”