Political Quotes

“I want to thank my friend for yielding to me. This rule makes in order three NAFTA-style free trade agreements, one with Korea, one with Panama, and one with Colombia, all of which I oppose. But I want to focus my remarks today on the trade agreement with Colombia because it hits so close to home for me. You will hear from Members that feel passionately about Colombia from their experience in that country. They support the free trade agreement, and I respect their perspectives. But there are some of us who feel just as passionately about our brothers and sisters who are killed in Colombia just because they are members of a union, and we oppose the agreement. I am a proud, card-carrying member of the United Steelworkers Union. I've been a member of the union for over 39 years and served as vice president of Local 152. Workers in Colombia are being killed for the exact same thing. Since January, 23 unionists have been assassinated. Fifty-one were killed last year, more than the rest of the world combined. Just for carrying a union card like mine, nearly 3,000 workers have been killed in Colombia over the past 25 years.…”