Political Quotes

“Secondly, I also rise with considerable excitement as the Great Lakes Authority legislation, which dozens and dozens of Members in both Chamber have supported, has been included in the 2023 omnibus bill. The Great Lakes watershed is the only region in our Nation without an economic instrumentality helping it to adjust to changing economic conditions--the only place in this country. The Great Lakes Authority will unlock the economic heartland's full potential for the century ahead. The Midwest communities that I represent are home to the people who make, build, and grow what makes, builds, and grows America. For decades, however, our region has borne the brunt of job losses, largely the direct result of disastrous trade policies, underinvestment, and deindustrialization. Since the passage of NAFTA in 1993, then China's entrance into the World Trade Organization in 2001, and CAFTA's passage in 2005, over 91,000 factories have closed across America--most in the region that I represent. Millions of good-paying jobs have been snuffed out. {time} 1230 Middle-class workers and families in the Great Lakes region, including Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and New York, have suffered as good-paying jobs disappeared. Too many communities have been shattered. The tragedy does not end there. Local governments have been left scrambling as declining revenues led to the collapse of budgets and the accumulation of crushing bonded indebtedness.…”