Representative Tom McClintock (R-CA) said that he supports Trade Promotion Authority because he doesn’t trust the president and “Trade Promotion Authority binds him to the will of Congress before the agreement is reached” during Saturday’s GOP Weekly Address.
McClintock’s Remarks as Follows:
“Hi, I’m Congressman Tom McClintock from California.
Right now, Congress is considering important legislation to help create more jobs and prosperity for the American people. It’s called Trade Promotion Authority. And I’d like to visit with you about it.
Trade means prosperity. More markets for American products means more jobs and higher wages for American workers. More products entering our economy means more consumer choices and lower prices.
But here’s the problem. Unfair trade regulations, labor standards, high taxes, and foreign subsidies often put American workers at a real disadvantage.
To remove these barriers, we have to negotiate trade agreements to put Americans back in the game under fair and equal rules. We haven’t done that recently, because the legal authority to effectively negotiate these agreements expired years ago, and we’re seeing the result.
Since 2000, there have been 48 trade agreements among Asian nations, and Americans were part of only two of them. China is writing the rules while we’re left behind.
That’s why Trade Promotion Authority is so important. It’s the key to re-starting America’s trade engine.
Here’s how it works, Congress sets 150 objectives that our negotiators have to advance. Fair rules that both sides have to follow, everything from food safety and labor standards, to rules for trading on the Internet. If these objectives aren’t met, the deal’s off. End of discussion.
If they are met, then the agreement’s published in full for sixty days so the American people can weigh in. And only then will Congress vote to approve it, or reject it.
This process gives our negotiating partners the confidence that the concessions that they make won’t be endlessly altered once the agreement gets to Congress. It’ll either be voted up, or voted down. That assures our negotiators will bring back to Congress the very best offer from our trading partners without their holding anything back.
We’ve negotiated trade agreements this way, generally, since the 1930s, and very much like this since the 1970s. But now, in some quarters, it’s become controversial.
Some on the left oppose it because of pressure from protectionist special interests. Well, they’ve forgotten the painful lessons of history. Protectionism is the fastest way to destroy an economy, as this nation has learned repeatedly, going back as far as Jefferson’s time.
Some on the right oppose it because they don’t trust the president and his history of executive overreach. Well, I don’t trust him either. That’s why I support this bill. Without it, he can negotiate anything he wants. Trade Promotion Authority binds him to the will of Congress before the agreement is reached. If and only if he meets Congress’ objectives, will Congress then agree, not necessarily to pass the agreement, but only to vote on it after the American people have had their say.
I’m particularly concerned about illegal immigration. This bill forbids the president from making any changes to our laws, including our immigration laws.
I don’t know about you, but I am tired of years of economic stagnation, of watching our country marginalized, and of an administration that often operates in direct defiance of Congress and the American people. This bill is a giant step to solving these problems.
The free exchange of goods, whether between people, or nations, means that both sides go away with something of greater value to themselves, or the trade wouldn’t take place. Freedom creates prosperity, and the greater the freedom, the greater the prosperity.
Trade Promotion Authority is the means by which this freedom is advanced, for ourselves, and for our children.
Freedom works. And it’s time that we put it back to work.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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