Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman for yielding. My district, New York's 19th Congressional District, is home to nearly 5,000 farms. These are not large or corporate operations. They are small family farms passed down from one generation to the next. These family farmers across my district--dairy, organic, vegetable, and diversified farmers--are being squeezed by market consolidation, lower prices, and unfavorable conditions during this downturn in the farm economy. Today, the House has an opportunity to provide a long-overdue tool for their success--in a word, stability. The USMCA will maintain and, in some cases, increase, for our farmers, access to critical markets in Canada and Mexico. I will cast my vote to ratify this important agreement with strength and protections for American workers and organized labor, as well as facility-specific enforcement mechanisms for these new terms. I will close with a reminder. This is not a panacea. Our small farmers are facing significant headwinds, and it is our duty, as a body, to support this time-honored tradition in upstate New York and across our country.”