Political Quotes

“in the Monday's Wall Street Journal there was an editorial that talked about the Jones Act. The Jones Act is legislation that was passed in the 1920s that is pretty much pure protectionism. It says that only shippers of sea-going vessels that own ships that were built in the United States can ship from one U.S. port to another. Now, we are running into a problem where U.S. shipyards are not building those ships. Especially at this time with the crunch on farmers and low commodity prices and, added to that problem of low prices a lack of transportation, we need to take a serious look at this protectionist law. I hope my colleagues will read the Wall Street Journal editorial that was in Monday's paper. We need to address these tough problems of protectionism that punishes American consumers and American producers. The agricultural economy is reeling under historically low commodity prices coupled with multiple-year disaster and weather related problems, plus the loss of export markets due to the Asian financial crisis. Farm income in my state of Michigan is predicted to be down by 10-20% depending upon the type of farming operation. The last thing American agriculture needs in another market hindrance. Last year, grain and other feedstocks were left on the ground due to a lack of adequate transportation options. All indications suggest we will be faced with the same problem again this year.”