Political Quotes

“Mr. President and colleagues, Senator Crapo has brought forward an amendment to the competition bill. It deals with the Biden administration's announcement that it would participate in negotiations on intellectual property and the coronavirus vaccines. Unfortunately, my friend's amendment also goes far beyond the current pandemic and adds roadblocks to any improvements to any other trade agreements into the future. So I must oppose Senator Crapo's amendment. I am offering an alternative, which the Senate will also vote on shortly. The fact is that even though COVID is receding in many American communities, the virus will still be a danger to Americans as long as there are outbreaks and mutations around the world. That is a big reason why the Biden administration is working overtime to increase vaccine production and distribution as quickly as possible in our country and around the world. It is also why the administration announced its intention to participate in negotiations over the vaccine IP waivers. The U.S. Trade Representative will be in charge of our participation in those negotiations. Again, unfortunately, the Crapo amendment would tie up our U.S. Trade Representative in bureaucratic redtape and reporting for many months before she could speak to any of our trading partners about the issue. Ambassador Tai and the Biden administration recognize that the TRIPS waiver is not going to end the pandemic overnight.…”