Mazie Hirono actually said...

"I think there definitely is a connection between setting certain standards and the spurring of developments that would help us meet those standards."

"It will be a long time before China is ready to be in something like TPP, but I think the Chinese leaders see momentum behind it."

"I would say the countries we are dealing with in TPP--they would be much better off in the kind of system that we are promoting as opposed to dealing with a huge, powerful entity like China."

"We need to provide a lot more of that kind of focused attention, face time, acknowledgement of the importance of those alliances."