Rob Portman Quotations

The timing of these exercises ought not to be dictated by political concerns. We do not think this is something aggressive but appropriate...The issue has become ripe.

The United States is going to continue to fight for market access.

With the strong bipartisan rejection of the Dorgan amendment today, the Senate cast a vote in favor of the U.S. working to knock down unfair trade barriers that hurt American business and farmers

There has never been a campaign where there hasn't been sniping from the outside and second-guessing. I hear the same sometimes from the Democratic side in terms of President Obama's campaign, so that's to be expected.

I served at a time when we had a strong economy, when we had deficits that we would die for today. I was able to propose a balanced budget, not over ten years, but over five years. I'm proud of that record.

How does the weakness of the dollar affect your business?

I saw the government really using the excuse of a weak economy and a financial crisis to create more government and to push onto the American entrepreneurial society more and more restraints and government activity.

The reality is that until we can agree on a formula that reduces tariffs globally we cannot meet this Doha promise for development. In order to keep momentum post-Hong Kong, the European Union must be willing to move.

The problem is that this round from its inception has had agriculture at its centerpiece. The EU and the U. S. and other WTO members cannot wish that away, that is a reality.

That isn't how I've always felt. As a congressman, and more recently as a senator, I opposed marriage for same-sex couples. Then something happened that led me to think through my position in a much deeper way.