Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this omnibus trade package. I, along with my friend and colleague from Washington State (Mr. McDermott), urge all of my colleagues to support it. I am particularly pleased that this bill extends trade preference programs. Preferences are a powerful developmental tool, and they can also be used to improve laws, environment and labor standards, and intellectual property rights protections. Developing nations, American workers, and businesses have benefited considerably when our preference program partnerships move to a permanent free trade agreement. One country that has graduated from preferences is South Korea. It continues to be among the leading exporters to the United States. It is a great model of how a country can graduate from the preference partnership to a free trade agreement that levels the playing field for American workers--a free trade agreement that deserves broad support and swift passage in the next Congress. As unemployment remains high, we must continue to knock down trade barriers for American goods and services--``sell American'' to customers all over the world--to protect and create jobs here at home. I urge support for this package today.”