Omnibus Trade Act Of 2010

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

I want to join others in thanking Chairman Tanner, chairman of the Trade Subcommittee, for his leadership and service to our country and our economy through the years. He will be missed.

Mr. Speaker, our economy is struggling, and this Congress hasn't done enough to help promote the job creation we so desperately need. Congress needs a new playbook, and this legislation can be the first new play we run. The bipartisan legislation extends the Generalized System of Preferences and the Andean Trade Preferences Act and renews and establishes certain miscellaneous tariff reductions. In doing so, this bill lowers taxes on the products that American manufacturers need to be more competitive.

More competitive U.S. manufacturers means more jobs for American workers. America's farmers will benefit from this legislation as well, because it will help hold down the cost of fertilizers and pesticides. More importantly, American families will benefit from this legislation. In fact, American families will see double benefits. Not only will it help promote job creation, it will lower costs for consumers. At a time when so many families are struggling to get by, lower taxes on these products can help American families make ends meet.

Expert analysis has demonstrated how these provisions will support American jobs. For example, the miscellaneous tariffs legislation could support as many as 90,000 U.S. jobs. The Preferences program has been found to support 682,000 jobs and lower costs for consumers by $273 million. In today's difficult economic times, these are clearly policies the Congress should support.

Additionally, the extension of the ATPA program will provide critical support for our strongest ally in South America, Colombia. Right now, Colombia is suffering from terrible flooding and has declared a state of emergency. This natural disaster has badly damaged the Colombian economy, and Colombians cannot afford even a temporary lapse of this program.

I share the frustration of many of my colleagues that Congress has not taken up the U.S.-Colombia trade agreement, which would remove barriers to American sales to Colombia. America's farmers and ranchers are already losing exports as other countries implement trade agreements with Colombia ahead of us and gain a competitive advantage, and that's why this agreement has bipartisan support.

I urge supporters on both sides of the aisle to ensure that the ATPA program does not lapse so we can support our allies in Colombia while we continue our efforts to bring the trade agreement to the floor of Congress for a successful vote.

Also, this legislation continues to authorize the 2009 law updating and approving the Trade Adjustment Assistance program in various respects. Such improvements included allowing better and more successful training options to trade-impacted workers and providing trade adjustment benefits to service workers, given the importance of the service sector in America's economy. The 2009 law also helps ensure TAA program accountability and results by requiring data on the program's performance and its worker outcome. This will enable us to measure how the program is effective and where improvements are needed.

Significantly, this bill prevents the U.S. Department of Labor from forcing Texas and 26 other States to use only so-called State ``merit'' employees to provide Trade Adjustment Assistance-funded services. This Federal mandate went against the wishes of Congress and has unnecessarily distracted States from efficiently providing TAA services to trade-impacted workers. The bill delays the ill-advised Labor Department rule for the next year and a half, helping to ensure that the congressional intent behind the 2009 bipartisan TAA law is respected and that each State may continue to decide how best to provide high-quality TAA services to trade-impacted workers to get them retrained and back to work.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Chairman Levin and Ranking Member Camp for working so hard to bring this legislation to the floor. This can be the first play out of a new bipartisan playbook that promotes trade as a means to grow the economy and create jobs. The playbook should also include seeking congressional passage of the three pending trade agreements in the first half of next year: a high-standard Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement by the U.S.-hosted APEC leaders' summit next November, an ambitious outcome to the WTO Doha talks next year, and other trade-opening initiatives.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source