OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Providing For Consideration of H.R. 2685, Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2016, And Providing For Consideration of H.R. 2393, Country of Origin Labeling Amendments Act of 2015

Floor Speech

Date: June 10, 2015
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Trade

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Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise against yet another closed rule on an issue that deserves weeks of open, transparent debate: trade.

This House is debating whether or not to repeal a consumer protection measure that 9 in 10 Americans support--country of origin labeling on meat in our grocery stores. This essential provision could be reversed in one fell swoop all because the World Trade Organization has decided that those labels hurt Mexico and Canada, our so-called ``Trading Partners,'' who have threatened the United States with billions of dollars in sanctions if we don't capitulate.

The WTO's ruling highlights yet another example of a trading system that benefits foreign competitors and global corporations at the expense of the American consumer.

I hope my colleagues will remember this vote when the House turns its attention to fast track and the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement.

Advocates of fast track are selling the American people a flawed trade deal which has been negotiated in secret by multi-national corporations. This trade deal, which proponents will tell you will reinvigorate the middle class, create jobs, and strengthen the American economy, will do just the opposite. What's more, the president wants to circumvent congressional authority by stopping debate and using fast track to ram a bad deal through this chamber.

Not only will fast track and the Trans-Pacific Partnership cause serious harm to the American worker, they threaten American sovereignty, and this repeal bill is a prime example of that.

Not only does this silence the voice of the American people, it cuts out the People's House and would topple even more consumer protections.

From changing fuel efficiency standards, limiting access to prescription drugs, weakening the Clean Air Act, and more, the TPP is not simply about trade, it puts every facet of our daily lives at risk.

I urge my colleagues to reconsider their path forward and work for the American people, not against them.

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