On the recordNovember 19, 2014
As we continue to banter on this importance of trade--of free trade versus fair trade--I can't help but be reminded of the pioneer spirit that has taken this Nation to moments of greatness, where that greatness was written by the American worker, oftentimes by the immigrant who came to this country to pursue the American Dream. What we need to do here is have history instruct us. Let us understand what the greatness of this Nation is about. Our best days lie ahead of us if we do that, if we are willing to take lessons from American history, where our sons and daughters who, as our ancestors-- many of them immigrants--came to these shores. It was their creative genius. It was their integrity. It was their ingenuity. It was their work ethic. It was their passion as they tethered that American Dream that grew these opportunities of manufacturing in our mill towns. They were undeniably the impetus. Today, we need to be instructed by that pioneer spirit. We need to understand that, if given a fair shot, we can continue to grow upon that greatness, but if we suffocate that American Dream, if we suffocate the American worker, if we deny just remuneration for their sweat equity as they pour themselves into that job, if they are denied that job because of these trade deals, these negotiated outcomes that are denying again the worker across the world, then we all lose. It is important for us to understand that we need to invest in the manufacturing base.…
