Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the rule and the underlying bill. TPA shouldn't stand for ``trade promotion authority''; it should stand for ``taking prosperity away,'' because that is exactly what it is going to do for millions of hard-working Americans. The House failed to advance its proposal less than a week ago, and today the TPA we are voting on is even worse. And hiding the vote behind our brave first responders? This is shameful. Republican leaders are doing everything they can to jam through a special interest agenda that will depress wages, exacerbate inequality, and cost jobs. TPA will take away the constitutional responsibility that Congress has to strengthen and improve the Trans-Pacific Partnership. If we approve this measure, we are surrendering our ability to improve a trade agreement for working families. We are not voting on TPP, as the chairman said, but we are voting on TPA, on the rules to govern these negotiations and the process to be filed. And if we vote for this TPA, we are saying that we are fine moving forward on a trade agreement that has no enforceable provisions against currency manipulation; meaning, there are no protections to stop countries from devaluing their currency, artificially reducing the price of their goods, and putting American manufacturers and American jobs at a competitive disadvantage.…”