Political Quotes

“I rise in support of fast track. I was not ready for the vote the last time, because I thought that there were some things that we could do as far as protection of our jobs, as far as the environment, but I voted on it. It may not be the appropriate time now. I do not know when an appropriate time is. But I will tell my colleagues the thing that I worry about. This is not just an intellectual discussion here in this Chamber. We are living in a real world, and the world is passing us by, particularly now with the emphasis of the Asian flu. I have taken groups down to Chile, to Argentina, to Mexico, to other parts of the world, all privately sponsored, and the one thing they ask is, 'When are you going to give the President the authority to negotiate with us, not just on a bilateral but a multilateral basis?' Mr. Speaker, I think it is so important that we do that. Time is important. It is not just an intellectual argument or a legal argument. It is an argument that has to do with business expansion. And countries and institutions and industries are passing us by, and I think it is very important we look at that.”