Ensuring Tax Exempt Organizations the Right to Appeal Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. LEWIS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and my ranking member for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the fast track amendment.
Over 20 years ago, I stood on this very House floor in opposition to NAFTA. I felt strongly then, as I do now, that these agreements are about more than trade. They are reflections of our values. Let me be clear, I am for trade. Since NAFTA, I have opposed some agreements and supported others, but I am not for trade at any price or at any cost.
Those of us on the Ways and Means Committee tried time and time again to make this legislation better, but mine and every single other Democratic amendment was rejected.
Mr. Speaker, I visited Vietnam, and I know that there is much work to be done. There is no freedom to organize, and freedom of speech is limited.
The people of Georgia are calling and writing my office in waves. For over 20 years, they have felt the hardship of unfair trade. Textile and automobile factories disappeared from metro Atlanta. Good jobs were shipped to Bangladesh, to China, to Mexico. Americans should not have to compete with starvation wages and environmental destruction.
Mr. Speaker, I do not know about you, but as Joshua of old said, as for me and my house, I am going to cast my lot with the working people of America.
Today, we have an opportunity to do what is right and what is just.
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Mr. LEWIS. We can develop smart trade policies which reflect our values. Labor, human rights, and trade have always been connected. This is not new. This little planet is not ours to waste, but to use what we need and leave this little planet a little greener and a little more peaceful for generations yet unborn.
This Congress must be a headlight and not a taillight, or history will not be kind to us.
I urge each and every Member of this Congress to do what is right. Stand up for the working people of our country.
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