Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, today I rise to offer an amendment that will allow us to collect the facts and evaluate the impact of the 2014- 2015 West Coast ports slowdown and dispute. The efficient movement of goods is critical to the economic success of this country. Our farmers and manufacturers must be able to export their high-quality products to the customers around the world that they rely upon. Beginning in the summer of 2014, these customer relationships and our economy were threatened. This was the result of a prolonged contract negotiation between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union that ended February 2015. Just how serious was the impact of these prolonged negotiations? One example from my home State provides a clear illustration. Our apple growers in Washington State were faced with an estimated $100 million worth of apples that they could not sell. Other stories can be told about multiple types of produce and products, including the hay and the potato industry, in Washington State. In fact, Mr. Chairman, I was in Malaysia and Singapore during part of the slowdown, and the complaint in those two countries was they couldn't get their potatoes. And especially they were upset they weren't getting their Washington State french fries. So this did have an impact across the globe. This wasn't just a United States economy impact. This was a global impact.…”