Political Quotes

“on few occasions is this body faced with a bill that is supported by such a vast, diverse, and a broad based list of industries and organizations, such as the NAACP, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Corporate Council on Africa, and the National Retail Federation. The African Growth and Opportunity Act provides a real chance for the U.S. to engage in new trading partnerships with the sub- Sahara Africa, but also provides a mechanism to assist those countries to bolster their own economies. This bill is important not only because of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, but for the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), the Generalized System of Preferences Program (GSP), and the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) programs contained therein. It is essential that the Senate reauthorize the GSP and TAA and discontinue the practice of simply extending these programs year by year. This all encompassing trade package, the result of three years of negotiation, deserves passage. What is also essential about this trade bill, is the manner in which the United States can give a hand-up to the Caribbean Basin and sub- Sahara Africa. After the death and destruction caused by Hurricane Mitch, the Caribbean nations have been struggling to regain the economic hold necessary not only to sustain their inhabitants, but to continue to prosper in the world economy.”