Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy in permitting me to speak on this. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor much encouraged, having heard the words of the Speaker and the chairman-designate, Mr. Gallagher. I was one of those people 25 years ago who was part of the consensus that we could engage Communist China into the world economy. I had an opportunity to travel extensively, meeting with the Chinese leadership at that time. They were saying the right things. I think some of them were sincere. It was an encouraging opportunity. But over the course of the last 20 years, it has taken a wrong turn. We have watched the Chinese play a cynical game. They have not lived up to their obligations under the WTO. We don't have a procurement provision, for example. We have watched repression increase, and we have watched this current regime in unprecedented ways exploit opportunities. I have legislation to close the de minimis loophole that allows China to import 2 million packages a day, untaxed and uninspected, and Heaven only knows in terms of forced labor, in terms of illicit goods that are coming in here. I have had legislation to try to change that. I think this select committee can be a forum to bring us together on a nonpartisan basis to take areas in which there is profound agreement, like closing the de minimis loophole. I commend the Speaker and the leadership moving forward.…”