Patrick J. Tiberi: “I, too, want to add my congratulations to the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, Mr. Ryan, for the bipartisan…”

“I, too, want to add my congratulations to the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, Mr. Ryan, for the bipartisan nature of the work on this bill. Without his leadership, it wouldn't have happened. I also appreciate the leadership of the ranking member of the Trade Subcommittee, Mr. Rangel, who has been an advocate for this for a long, long time; Ranking Member Levin; the gentleman from Washington State, as it has been pointed out, and his leadership as well; the gentlewoman from California; Chairman Royce from California; as well as Mr. Young of Indiana, who has been a strong advocate of getting this done, and getting this done quickly, as the chairman said. The entire process of developing a long-term extension and enhancement of AGOA reflects the strong bipartisan commitment that has always surrounded this issue and the bipartisan commitment of our chairman. AGOA has been a clear success of economic development and in national security terms as well. In the last 15 years since it was enacted, it has become the cornerstone of our relationship with Africa. Since AGOA was enacted, trade has tripled and investment has grown almost sixfold. By one estimate, AGOA supports well over a million direct and indirect jobs in sub-Saharan Africa and about 100,000 jobs in the United States of America.…”