Political Quotes

“I rise with mixed feelings because in a different setting, I might be very sympathetic to the argument the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin) is making. I have been involved myself in the fight to specifically challenge the Chinese on currency issues, but I am disappointed in the timing of this motion, particularly in view of China's recent and very modest actions to move forward on currency, and with the fact that in this context, this motion would function effectively as a poison pill that might very well kill the bill in the Senate. On the substance, the motion from the other side of the aisle seeks to force the administration to bring a section 301 case against China based on its old currency peg to the dollar. It would also force the administration to use a very narrow and simplistic definition of currency manipulation in its foreign exchange reports. My understanding is the USTR rightly rejected this petition twice in the past because it would hinder the efforts to change China's former currency regime. In fact, China's recent steps in moving in the direction of a float, however limited, have made it very clear that the timing on this provision is not good. I would argue that my bill requires that the USTR instead report to Congress every 6 months on the degree to which the new mechanism moves the currency closer to a market-based representation of its value and requires Treasury to reconsider how it currently defines currency manipulation.…”