Charles Rangel: “I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker and Members, this is more than just a trade bill. I want to thank…”

“I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker and Members, this is more than just a trade bill. I want to thank Chairman Ryan for making certain that this did not come anywhere near the controversies that surround us in the trade area, which he could have done; but he made certain that this extension of AGOA, the support for Haiti, and also the GSP would not be surrounded with controversy but would move seamlessly. I want to thank, also, Ed Royce of the Committee on Foreign Affairs for being so cooperative in each stage of the way. It is a moving period for me because there hasn't been this type of cooperation between the House and the Senate or Republicans and Democrats in a long time, and it feels extremely good. I want to thank you for this and to realize that it is not just African countries, it is expansion of what I think our great country is all about, that it is not really just to exercise the economic power that we have, but to explore the potential that other countries have, especially in Africa that has been bypassed for so many, many decades. I want to thank Jim McDermott, who was one of the original authors; Phil Crane, who was the chairman of the committee; and, of course, then-Speaker Gingrich, who was the first witness that we had for this bill.…”