Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Neal for yielding. Trade negotiations are not for the faint of heart. Few votes have generated more passion in this Chamber than votes on trade agreements. That is why I am so glad that we finally have an agreement that Members from both sides of the aisle can support. It is no secret why that is. This is an agreement that sets up, for the first time, facility-level inspections to make sure that workers' rights are being honored, and it removes the onerous IP provisions that have made their way into far too many trade agreements in recent years. Finally, as a Member from the San Diego region, it is important to have an agreement like this that both preserves and improves the binational partnership that defines the larger community. This agreement lays the groundwork for the Federal Government to finally address the longstanding pollution flowing from the Tijuana River into San Diego Bay, which impacts both the health of our community and our military.”