Political Quotes

“I watched the world change during nearly four decades in the Navy, having joined up in 1970. I have been almost everywhere. Several decades ago I went to China and to the United Arab Emirates when they were not the powers they are today. The strength of our international trade is absolutely crucial to the economic prosperity and global competitiveness of our Nation. But there are consequences of globalization, and we must address them if we are to remain and have a fully skilled workforce that can continue to compete. This is why trade adjustment assistance is so important. It ensures the transition of the workforce that is negatively impacted by trade to step back and to receive the tools that prepare them to reenter the workforce at a higher, more skilled, competitive level. Good for them. Good for America. The substitute amendment removes this focus on ensuring a more wealthy economy because of a retrained workforce. It actually caps retraining funding at $8,000, less than all but one State. This, when economists state that if our competitive ability, based on an innovative, skilled workforce, does not change, China will be the number one economy by 2050 and India number two. We will be number three. As service workers have grown to be a more significant part of the economy than they were when the initial Trade Assistance Act was passed in 1962, it is vitally important that we invest in their retraining also.”