[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 144 (Thursday, September 11, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H8023]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        DIRECTION OF OUR COUNTRY

  (Mr. KAGEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KAGEN. Madam Speaker, on this date, September 11, 2001, we were 
attacked. But that was not the end of the American story. The American 
story is still unfolding, as it has in my home area in Kimberly, 
Wisconsin, with the closing of the Kimberly Paper Mill.
  One of the workers there is Randy Gossens. With his wife, Vicky, he 
has worked at that mill for 32 years, and he says, ``With the closing 
of the Kimberly mill, we will not be able to help out with our 
daughter's education the way we did with our son. My wife and I are 
very proud of the fact that our son graduated from college and that we 
were able to help him financially with his chosen career. With the mill 
closing and our future income so unsure, we will not be able to do the 
same with our daughter.''
  What kind of Nation are we when we turn our back on our own American 
workers, when we have trade deals that are unfair and unbalanced? On 
this very special day, we need to look back and think back, but at the 
same time we have to take a positive step forward and change the 
direction of this country and the direction of our trade deals as well.

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