Political Quotes

“I rise to urge the Speaker of this House to bring forward for a vote in this House the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement. We know Colombia not only has the most long-standing democracy in all of Latin America, but is our most trusted and dependable partner in counternarcotics and counterterrorism. We also know that President Uribe, the democratically-elected President of Colombia, is a good friend of the United States, and someone who has brought security in his successful efforts to eliminate the FARC, a narcotrafficking terrorist organization in Colombia, and as a result today he has made tremendous progress in reducing violence in that country and bringing security throughout the entire country. The U.S.-Colombia trade agreement is good for Illinois, my home State. My district is dependent on exports. Construction equipment that is made in my district and the 8,000 union workers who make construction equipment suffer 15 percent tariffs when exported to Colombia. Under this trade agreement, they are eliminated on day one. The farm community will tell you the U.S.-Colombia trade agreement is the best ever when it comes to access for Illinois and U.S. farm products to the Colombian market. The bottom line is, the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement is a win-win for the United States, it is a win-win for Colombia. Mr. Speaker, we need to bring it to the floor. Colombia is our friend, and this deserves a vote.”