Political Quotes

“I rise in strong support of this proposal, this bill. It restarts TAA and the GSP program. You know, this should have happened long ago. The Republican decision to let it lapse over 8 months ago was very wrong. And as a result, and we're not sure of the exact numbers because that isn't public, but hundreds of service workers were completely shut out. Fewer manufacturing workers became eligible, and those who did qualify for TAA received less assistance and support. So now we're taking action today that's long overdue. I heard last night somebody said that the trade agreements were being held ``hostage'' to the TAA program. They just got it 180 degrees wrong. It was the TAA program that was being held hostage to trade agreements, and that never should have happened. Well, now we can act. I just want to say, some people, I think, look upon TAA as kind of the teaspoon of sugar to make the trade agreements go down. That could not be more incorrect. What TAA does is to help those who are thrown out of work because of trade, through no fault of their own. And if we're going to have a competitive workforce, people need to be able to be retrained. And interestingly enough, if you go to any place where TAA operates, you'll see a wide variety of people who have become eligible and who are being helped. So I very, very much support this bill which preserves the integrity, although not all, of the TAA program, and the 2009 reforms.…”