Political Quotes

“I have listened carefully to this debate, and I know that my good friend Mr. Levin and my friend Mr. Camp have worked to try to craft an agreement that they feel is in the best interest of this country. But this debate cannot pass without pointing out some facts that concern those of us who are opposed to this. According to Global Trade Watch, Colombia is the world capital for violence against workers, with more unionists killed every year than in the rest of the world combined. Unionist murders have been growing from 37 in 2007 after the deal was signed to 51 in 2010, even though Colombia has been under maximum security. Only 6 percent of the nearly 2,680 unionist murders that have occurred have been prosecuted to date. The deal doesn't require Colombia to end the unionist murders or bring past perpetrators to justice to obtain special trade privileges. Colombian unions oppose the deal and agree with U.S. unions that a recent action plan will not fix this horrific situation. Colombia has the highest number of displaced people in the world, outpacing even Sudan because of forced displacement and land grabs, often with Colombian military involvement. Now, I know there has been an attempt to try to address these, but I think that we have to get the Government of Colombia to answer these things first before we pass a trade agreement, and I don't believe that they have sufficiently done that.…”