Political Quotes

“I come to the floor tonight deeply concerned, deeply concerned about our failed trade policies, deeply concerned about the plight of American workers, deeply concerned about the future of America. Four years ago in this Chamber we had a long, long debate on NAFTA. NAFTA proponents pushed hard for its passage. They promised that NAFTA would create 200,000 American jobs. They warned that NAFTA was critical to the American economy and that American jobs depended on its passage. After 40 months under NAFTA, we can clearly see that the reality is vastly different. The reality is that NAFTA worsened our trade balance with Mexico and Canada. Since NAFTA went into effect, our $10 billion deficit with Canada turned into a larger $23 billion deficit. Our $1.7 billion surplus with Mexico slid into a $16 billion deficit. Our growing trade deficits with Mexico and Canada mean that we are buying more than we are selling. It means that American jobs are being lost. The reality is that 90 percent of the companies that promised to create jobs have not. Allied Signal, General Electric, Johnson and Johnson, Mattel, Procter & Gamble, Zenith and Exxon. The list goes on and on and on. They promised NAFTA would create American jobs. In a sense, they signed a promissory note to all the working men and women of America. The note was a promise that working Americans would be better off with NAFTA.”