Political Quotes

“the opposition to this fairly straightforward trade agreement has generated not one, not two, but a whole school of red herrings that I think have to be knocked down quickly in succession. We have heard a little of it already this afternoon on the floor. What is fairly clear is that the U.S. FTA with Oman clearly has worked through and worked closely with the International Labor Organization, and also with civil society in Oman, the U.S. Congress, and the U.S. executive branch. The measures that have been developed have gone through a legally mandated legislative, consultative process, and it has resulted in clear guarantees on labor. On the matter of port security, critics of the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement have manufactured an issue, and we have heard this reiterated this morning, by claiming that the agreement gives foreign service providers unprecedented access to U.S. ports and is a threat to U.S. security. This is absurd. May I introduce for the Record a letter to Speaker Hastert from the Secretary of the Treasury who says, in part, ``The FTA negotiated with Oman neither subjects national security interests to a third-party tribunal's assessment, as some have alleged, nor does it alter, amend or adjust the President's Exon-Florio statutory powers to protect the Nation's security in any way.'' Department of the Treasury, Secretary of the Treasury, Washington, DC, July 20, 2006. Hon. J.…”