Political Quotes

“I am on the floor today to urge the U.S. Congress to do the right thing, and that is to allow a vote on this new agreement between Mexico and Canada and the United States. Unbelievably, this agreement was negotiated a year ago--they signed it at the end of November last year--and yet for a year now, Congress has refused to take it up. It has got to go to the House of Representatives first, and Speaker Pelosi and the House Democrats who control that body have not been willing to at least take it to the floor for a vote. The agreement is such a big improvement over the status quo. The status quo is the NAFTA agreement, which is 25 years old. The new agreement, which was negotiated a year ago, gives something that Canada wants, Mexico wants, and the United States wants. We want it because it is really important to us. It is particularly important to my home State of Ohio. I will tell you our No. 1 trading partner by far is Canada. We send about 40 percent of our exports to one country: Canada. So to have a better agreement with our biggest trading partner--and our second biggest trading partner, which is Mexico--is really important. Alongside Mexico, our trade with Canada accounts for about $28 billion a year. I am hearing a lot about it. I am hearing from Ohio farmers. They have had a tough time.…”