Political Quotes

“I rise to join in the strong bipartisan support for this legislation which is critical to our need to continue working to reduce poverty, to create jobs and to strengthen democracy. Today this House has an opportunity to continue moving forward by extending the Andean trade preferences for Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia. It's only a short-term extension, 8 months, but it moves forward. Just like the Caribbean Basin Initiative, these preferences create jobs, reduce poverty and also build capacity in nations that previously were left out. The Andean preferences offer many who have been previously left out of the opportunity to participate in free enterprise as well as the export marketplace. I think of examples of communities who benefit. I think of the Gatazo-Zambrano community in Chimborazo, Ecuador, 400 indigenous families now being lifted out of poverty because they are now exporting broccoli and produce to the U.S. export market. I think of the thousands of women engaged in flower production, as well as the processing of flowers in Colombia, involved in that industry, dependent on these preferences. And if they went out of business, China would take over the flower business. There's almost 2 million jobs dependent in the Andean region on these Andean preferences which we created to lift people out of poverty. If you care about democracy in Latin America, you should vote ``yes.''”