Political Quotes

“Thank you to the senior Senator from North Dakota for his great work in pulling us all together. A number of us on the floor really appreciate the agricultural sector. We heard from my senior Senator just a bit ago. Why am I so enthused about the USMCA? It is because, in the great State of Iowa, one out of every five jobs is tied to trade. Over 87,000--87,000--farms make Iowa our Nation's top egg, pork, corn, soybean, and ethanol producer. With Canada and Mexico being two of our biggest trading partners, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement--or what we have been talking about here, the USMCA--is a huge deal for the State of Iowa. Last year alone, my home State of Iowa exported $6.6 billion worth of products to just Canada and Mexico. That is more than we exported to our next 27 top export markets all combined--27 combined, and it still wasn't greater than what we send to Mexico and Canada. This deal will allow those numbers to grow exponentially by creating new export opportunities for our dairy industry, greater access for our egg producers, and reducing nontariff trade barriers that previously hampered our exporting abilities. So it is critical--it is critical--that we get the USMCA across the finish line, not just for the sake of getting a tremendous win for our agriculture community but finalizing a deal that will impact the livelihoods of our hard-working Iowans and all Americans across the country.…”