Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I know there is a UC order for seven or eight Senators. Senators Casey, Merkley, Whitehouse, Markey, Warren, Baldwin, and Sanders we believe will be here for the next 45 minutes under an agreed-to order to talk about our concerns with trade promotion authority and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I will lead off, then Senator Casey will speak, and then Senators Merkley and Whitehouse. We know a number of things. We know that American workers are the most competitive and productive in the world. We also know that far too many have been left behind because of wrongheaded trade deals. In the 20th century, we built the strongest economy in the history of the world by building the strongest middle class in the history of the world. We invested in the health and safety of our workforce, guaranteed workers the right to bargain for fairer pay and reasonable hours. It was a fight to do so and more remains to be done. We expanded opportunity for women and people of color, which society had never done, to realize their full potential in the labor force. Americans up and down the income spectrum reaped the awards. Workers got more productive, wages went up, profits were good, communities were strong. We led the world with a booming economy fueled by a skilled and powered workforce. The talent and tenacity of American workers has not changed, but our leaders'--including in this body--commitment to those workers, frankly, and, unfortunately, has.…”