Political Quotes

“I want everybody to understand how these three bills are sequenced and how and why they were set up this way by the majority so people will understand our votes. The sequence is the first vote will be TAA; next, TPA; and next, Customs. The reason for TAA being first is to try to maximize the votes among Democrats for TPA. That is really why they were set up this way. Why is Customs last? It is because there are many Democrats who will vote for TPA--at least some, there aren't that many perhaps--who don't like the Customs bill. Everybody who is listening should understand the rationale for this sequencing, and everybody should understand our reaction to the sequencing and what has happened here. The way this has evolved is this. For years, I have worked to try to build strong bipartisan support for trade agreements, and we often have succeeded. With Peru, it was over 100 Democrats. We worked on Korea and got less, but the leadership and I voted for it because we worked together eventually for a truly bipartisan bill. This TPA bill doesn't have that, and essentially, what has happened-- in part, because of that--is that the leverage has been lost by the administration, to some extent, and on our side to resist items like in the Customs bill. That is really what is happening here.…”