Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, the Singapore and Chile agreements are wrong for labor standards, they are wrong on the environment, they are wrong on the economy, and they are wrong for the American people. I have been a mill worker at Great Northern Paper Company for over 30 years. I have had firsthand experience with the devastation of the so-called free trade agreements on the U.S. economy. I know what they really mean to the working people of this country. Almost no one else in this Chamber can claim that experience. These kinds of agreements are bad for the working American people. NAFTA has been nothing but a disaster in my State of Maine, costing over 24,000 manufacturing jobs alone since NAFTA came into effect. As a matter of fact, in some parts of my district, the unemployment rate is over 38 percent. Working people do not want the programs or handouts that we have created because of trade agreements, they want to keep their jobs. No, I do not oppose all free trade agreements categorically; but they must be truly free, and they must be truly fair for our workers. Singapore and Chile are neither.”