Political Quotes

“I remember when NAFTA was passed some 10 years ago; and David Bonior stood on this floor, as did others, and told us the truth. The other side told us what we now know are falsehoods. They told us if we pass NAFTA we are going to create more jobs in America and raise the standard of living of the folks who live in Mexico. They said it is a win/win. We know that manufacturing wage rates have actually declined in Mexico since NAFTA, and we have lost jobs here in this country. This trade deal is only a part of the overall picture. The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) pointed out we have an exploding budget deficit. A Medicare bill was passed at 6 a.m. after arm twisting and deals were made, and perhaps even illegal activities, we do not know for sure, but that is certainly worthy of investigation; and it is being investigated. The fact is we now find out that it is not a $400 billion bill; it is a $534 billion bill, in part because there are no cost savings. There is no way to control the costs of prescription drugs in that bill because of our sellout to the pharmaceutical industry, basically.”