Political Quotes

“Mr. President, over recent decades, globalization--and by that, I mean depending on the cheapest producer of a particular good and disregarding the vulnerability of supply chains--has characterized our global commerce. By and large, that has been a good thing, particularly for consumers, if you are talking about toys for your children or an appliance, let's say. Everything from ag products to innovative technologies can find a place in global markets. And that can benefit consumers. But this interdependence creates serious risks, as well. Over the last couple of years, we have seen how supply chain vulnerabilities can bring an entire industry--or perhaps even an entire country--to its knees. Some of the clearest examples have surfaced during the pandemic. The U.S. leans heavily on Chinese manufacturing for masks, gloves, gowns, and ventilators, otherwise known as PPE--not the ventilators, but the masks and gloves. For a long time, that didn't seem to be a problem. Then COVID-19 showed up on our front doorstep. China held most of the supply for its own healthcare workers, leaving the rest of the world to scramble and compete for what little product was available here at home. Suddenly, we were unable to protect our healthcare workers with PPE and the equipment they needed in order to deal with people sick with the virus.…”