Providing for Consideration of H.R. 3688, United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act

Floor Speech

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3688, UNITED STATES-PERU TRADE PROMOTION AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION ACT -- (House of Representatives - November 07, 2007)

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Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I'm really not sure why we're under this great rush to make these agreements, especially with a couple of countries that were named that do not have good human relations records and are not bastions of freedom. I don't understand, and I think most Americans don't understand, why we are so anxious to cut some kind of a deal, when we know that Americans are losing jobs.

I walk through my own community and I see empty factories. I look around the State of New Hampshire and I see people have lost jobs, and people shrug and say to me, the jobs have gone overseas. They may not understand exactly what the trade agreement was, but they know they lost their jobs.

And in December, once again, we'll see a factory close in New Hampshire. This is a great tragedy. We may discount 20 jobs, 100 jobs, 200 jobs here and there, but ultimately what we're saying to Americans is we're sending your jobs overseas, and we hope that you'll be retrained, and we hope that you'll be able to finance your home and finance your car and educate your children. But really, this globalization effort is in your best interest. And you know, sometimes it is.

Democrats are not against free trade. But what we are for is fair trade and making sure that our own people can maintain their lifestyle and that they'll have worker benefits and that they'll be able to retire, just like the generation before.

I'm holding in my hand an article from The Washington Post from today, and Harold Meyerson wrote, and he's so right, ``Why the Democratic rush on trade? Globalization does pose real challenges to working and middle-class Americans. Democrats should wait until they're in a position, say, in 2009, to begin to restore some security to Americans' economic lives before they return to cutting trade deals. Their electoral prospects, and the Nation's economic prospects, demand no less.''

I'm a freshman here, and I came in with a lot of other freshmen who heard across their districts the worries of middle-class, working-class Americans worried about their futures. We share that worry, and that's what's made us stand here tonight.

Why can't we have a moratorium? Why rush? Why take the chance?

Moving to other nations for cheaper labor is not fair to Americans and, in the end, will hurt our own country.

So I urge my colleagues to say ``no'' to these deals.

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