Political Quotes

“He told me in the course of that hearing that he would oppose truly conforming the House bill with the Senate bill because ``it would make it more difficult to negotiate TPP,'' this Asian trade agreement. So we put the desire for trade over our principles. I think it is possible to have more trade and support a 21st century trade policy without sacrificing our values as Americans. What has happened in the meantime is a reclassification of Malaysia, all designed to get the trade there without getting Malaysia to do what it should about human trafficking, which I think is really tragic. Then there is the third issue addressed in this customs bill, and that is the question of enforcement. Of course, when it comes to protection of the environment, when it comes to standards so that we are not in a race to the bottom with our American workers versus foreign workers, say in Vietnam working for 60 cents an hour, this United States Trade Representative's office has been asleep at the wheel. That is the name of a great Texas swing band, but it is not a very good policy when it comes to enforcing the law. Unfortunately, these enforcement provisions which are part of this customs bill leave it to USTR to proceed as it has in the past.…”