Political Quotes

“I rise to oppose the Royce amendment to eliminate the Market Access Program (MAP). Several weeks ago, the House passed legislation to grant PNTR to China. One of the best arguments for PNTR is that it will grant U.S. producers access to the Chinese market, much of which has been closed for too many years. MAP is the program that will help U.S. producers--not large agribusinesses--gain that access. Exporting is a challenge, even for the most experienced. Many individual producers and small companies find it difficult to break into it and to be competitive internationally. MAP helps our producers, primarily through grants to state departments of agriculture, to overcome these hurdles by partially funding international market research and trade missions to foreign countries. Access to the Chinese market does us no good if we can't take advantage of it. MAP will help our producers develop it and become better at international trade and marketing. Reject this short-sighted amendment. Support MAP.”