Political Quotes

“I rise to thank Senator Durbin of Illinois for his leadership on these vital issues. You just heard in the comments he made the reach and scope of his vision. I am so impressed with the breadth and depth of his engagement first on behalf of American workers. The Senator recognizes so clearly that 95 percent of the world's consumers live outside our country, and we have to have a coordinated, capable, competent export strategy in order to continue to access the most promising, most rapidly growing markets in Africa. The 54 countries of the continent of Africa provide enormous opportunity as their growing middle class, increasing access to their human and mineral and natural resources create opportunities for us to grow jobs in the United States. Nearly 10 million new jobs are supported in the United States by exports to the rest the world. But as Senator Durbin has wisely seen and pointed out, our competitors are beating us in the race to access these great opportunities. The Chinese, the Brazilians, the Russians, the Indians, in every country on the continent they are present, they are investing, and they are growing. Senator Durbin rightly recognized that China has eclipsed the United States as the leading trading partner for Africa.…”