Glenn English: “I rise on a topic that is of central importance to our economy for many years to come, a topic which Congress is going…”

“I rise on a topic that is of central importance to our economy for many years to come, a topic which Congress is going to be called upon to consider in the near future, and I think has to consider in a bipartisan way in thinking outside of the box, thinking outside of their traditional ways of approaching it. I am referring here, of course, to the topic of trade and trade negotiating authority for the President. Mr. Speaker, more than 200 years ago, Benjamin Franklin wisely observed that no Nation was ever ruined by trade. Back then, the United States was a small part of the global economy. By far, the largest portion of the wealth of the world lay outside of our borders. Franklin was simply expressing that which was obvious to most Americans, the wealthiest and most powerful nations on Earth were the great trading powers. If the U.S. were ever to live up to its potential, we had to plug in, we had to participate in the global economy. An island, even one of continental scale, could not expect to prosper by sealing its borders to the commercial opportunities that lie abroad.”