Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I have a strong belief in the power of international trade agreements to make a profound difference. It is not just because 95 percent of the global economy is outside the United States. These agreements are necessary to raise standards, protect the environment, and to avoid the tragedy of the commons. I have seen the global economy raise living standards in China, Africa, and India, Singapore being the most powerful example. However, there were decidedly mixed results with Mexico. The gap between theory and practice showed that the promise of NAFTA was overblown and that the critics were right. Poor Mexican farmers could not compete against massively subsidized American corn, and U.S. workers could not compete against $3 an hour Mexican factory workers. Too much of American business was focused on financial and tax engineering, not actually engineering better products. They were gaming the tax system and extending patent protection, not winning new patents. The worst example was GE's downward spiral under Jack Welch's ruthless capitalism. However, I have been encouraged with the Biden administration's worker-centered trade policy. I am proud of my work as the lead Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee dealing with international trade, working to level the playing field, fighting to improve trade agreements.…”