Rep. Paul Ryan had a point to make Tuesday, and he made it in a way that would have made his home state proud: He waved a hunk of cheese.
The Wisconsin Republican said he had the cheesy prop on hand after losing a football bet with Washington Democrat Rep. Jim McDermott over the outcome of the Green Bay Packers-Seattle Seahawks playoff game, but the smoked Gouda-style wedge came in handy while Ryan voiced his disapproval on dairy trade restrictions with Canada,
reports The Wall Street Journal.
Ryan, the new chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, kept brandishing the cheese (which he called, American-style, "GOO-dah," not "HOW-da," like the Dutch do, the Journal points out) while he argued that Canada has not proposed removing barriers to U.S. dairy products while involved in a 12-nation negotiation for a new Pacific trade bloc.
He also said that the European Union maintains "geographic indications" on many food products, restricting product brands from certain locations.
"We need to address these trade barriers," Ryan said to the sole witness to the committee hearing, U.S. trade representative Mike Froman, brandishing his hunk of cheese while he talked.
But Ryan wasn't the only one with a quick prop from his own home state. Michigan Rep. Sandy Levin, the top Democrat on the committee, dug out some car keys so he could wave them while standing up for Detroit's auto industry.
Ryan's impromptu prop, naturally, brought out the cheese puns and whines on Twitter:
The owner of a pastry-centered blog,
UP Pastry Plate, wanted to know why Ryan didn't wave around a hunk of cake:
George Stanley, managing editor of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, came out
defending Wisconsin, tweeting:
Blogger Matt Loveland, meanwhile, questioned the Republican lawmaker's
choice of cheeses:
Tuesday's hearing, aside from the Gouda incident, was actually part of procedures this week in Washington to discuss the Obama administration's trade agenda,
reports The Washington Post.
Both Ryan's committee and the Senate Finance Committee, led by Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, are expected to push legislation forward in upcoming weeks, with hopes of passing a bill by the end of April.
"This president has earned our distrust, but having said that, I still support TPA," California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, former head of the House Oversight Committee, told the Post.
"I still want to have the trade team be able to go forward and make good offers."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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