Harry Reid: “I can remember when my friend, the Senator from North Dakota, first started coming to the floor with charts indicating…”

“I can remember when my friend, the Senator from North Dakota, first started coming to the floor with charts indicating the trade deficits. I can remember back in 1996 and 1997 when I thought: The trade deficit is going up, but not very much; it is $170 billion. It went up $10 billion, and that sounds like a lot of money. Maybe there is something that can be done about that situation. Now I think there is no way to rationalize what is happening. It was $170 billion in 1996, and we are over double that in just a few years. I say to my friend, I take pride, even though I have received a lot of criticism, in that I have not voted for a single trade agreement. I thought they were shortsighted and bad for our country, and I think time is proving I was right and the twisting of arms to get votes for these programs saying it would help was simply wrong. I say to the distinguished Senator from North Dakota, these are more than just statistics on a map or a chart or a graph.”