Political Quotes

“Mr. President, as 2023 comes to a close, I rise to mark a year of historic progress for working people in our country. Since President Biden took office, we have created more than 14 million jobs, including 1.5 million jobs created in manufacturing, construction, and engineering. Meanwhile, unemployment has been under 4 percent for 22 months in a row--the longest stretch in over 50 years. And, across the country, we are seeing the labor movement reclaim its strength. After decades of declining union membership, working people are coming together to demand their fair share of the economic success our country is experiencing--success they make possible. None of this is happening by accident. These victories are thanks, in large part, to the commitment of the Biden-Harris administration and, to give credit where credit is due, to the work of Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. Since assuming the top role at the Labor Department earlier this year, Acting Secretary Su has played a critical role in supporting workers and finding consensus to move our economy forward. In June, just months after taking over the Department, she helped avert a potentially disastrous strike at ports all along the west coast. Had major ports come to a screeching halt, our country would have experienced massive supply chain disruptions, costing our economy billions of dollars. Such a shutdown would have been particularly chaotic for Hawaii, where the vast majority of our goods is shipped to the State.…”