Political Quotes

“I thank the distinguished Senator from Oregon. I wish to start by sharing the experience I had when I first started running for the Senate and asking people around Rhode Island to give me the chance to represent them here. One unforgettable day was when I was walking along a factory floor and, as I was walking along, I looked down and I noticed there were holes in the concrete pad of the factory floor, and I asked: Why are the holes there? They explained: Oh, well, we used to have manufacturing machinery here. Those are the bolt holes, and we unbolted the machinery and shipped it overseas to a Central American country where the same product is made for the same buyers on the same machine, but it is made by foreign workers. That is the memory I have when I think about these trade agreements, and it is not just that one machine that went overseas. Rhode Island, not a big State, has lost more than 50,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs since 1990. Our State has been on the losing end of these trade deals. People say they are going to enforce the environmental and human rights and labor and safety requirements of these agreements. I have not seen it. I am at the stage where I don't believe it. You will have to prove it to me. You will have to establish a record of enforcing these things before I will believe it. I have been told that for too long. I don't believe the enforcement any longer. I have to say I don't like the process very much either. It is secret.…”