Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to one of the amendments made in order by this rule. The Foxx-Davis amendment would dramatically alter American sugar policy by eliminating the economic safety net for sugar producers. There is a Domino Sugar Refinery located in my district in Yonkers, New York, which has been a staple of the neighborhood for almost a century. According to their own figures, the refinery employs 280 people and sustains an additional 138 jobs through trucking, terminal operations, cargo handling, and ship piloting. That is more than 400 local jobs, most of them union jobs, supporting local families and pumping additional dollars into our communities. These are the men and women I represent, and they are the ones for whom I cast my vote. I will cast my vote against the Foxx-Davis amendment and encourage my colleagues to do the same. America's sugar policy is working. It has operated at zero cost to taxpayers in 14 of the past 15 years, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that sugar will run at a zero cost to taxpayers over the next 10 years. According to the International Sugar Organization, food manufacturers in the U.S. pay 10 percent less for sugar than other developed countries. Meanwhile, America's grocery shelf sugar prices are among the lowest in the world. Again, most importantly, the reason I rise is that the U.S. sugar industry provides good union jobs.…”