Political Quotes

“Madam President, I, too, rise in strong support of the pending trade agreements with America's allies, Colombia, South Korea, and Panama. These agreements hold great promise for American farmers, manufacturers, service providers, and American consumers. I would echo my colleague from Oregon, who chairs the Subcommittee on Trade on the Finance Committee; that is, these trade agreements position American businesses to capture more of that supply chain to enable us to create jobs here at home and to grow the economy, to generate economic activity out there that otherwise we would not see happening. At a time when we need to focus our efforts on measures that will promote economic growth and job creation, these agreements are exactly the type of legislation we ought to be considering. There is broad consensus these agreements are going to benefit our economy. The Obama White House estimates that enactment of these three trade agreements will boost exports by at least $12 billion, supporting over 70,000 American jobs. The Business Roundtable estimates that passage of these trade agreements will support as many as 250,000 American jobs. These are not only jobs at large businesses but increasingly at smaller companies that are accessing international markets. As an example of that, more than 35,000 small and mid-sized American businesses export to Colombia, Panama, and South Korea, and these firms now account for more than one-third of U.S. exports to these countries.…”