Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Michigan for her work on this legislation--she was here late in the evening yesterday--and the effort she has put forward. It was 10 years ago this month that the Senate passed permanent normal trade relations with China. Initially, that was called most- favored-nation status, as Senator Stabenow remembers. They dressed it up, cleaned it up, put lipstick on the pig, and decided they should call it something else. We know what it has done to our country. We had a trade deficit with China in the fairly low double digits back 10 years ago. Today, our bilateral trade deficit with China is $260 billion. I believe last year it was $240 billion. The first President Bush said that $1 billion in trade deficit translates into 13,000 jobs. So if we have a trade surplus of $1 billion, it means we are selling a lot more than buying and have gained 13,000 jobs. If we have a trade deficit of $1 billion, we have a 13,000 job loss. Well, we have a trade deficit with China alone of $260 billion, so we know what that means. Look at what this PNTR with China has done. Look at what our tax laws and trade laws have done, and this legislation will begin to fix the tax laws. Look at what tax laws and trade laws have done to the middle class, to our manufacturing base in Toledo, OH, and Monroe, MI, and points north and south of there. It has all been based on this sort of cynical business plan.…”