Date: 2015-04-23
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. in just a few months in Washington. I have learned that there is always something going on. and this week is no exception to that rule. In the coming days. two very important actions may change life for many of my constituents and Americans across the country. Last week. the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Mr. RYAN. introduced the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015. legislation that would allow the President to negotiate and to sign trade agreements with limited congressional oversight. The Committee on Ways and Means has reported that legislation out. and I imagine we will be considering it on the floor in short order. Next week. the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges. which is a case that has the potential to decide once and for all whether every American. regardless of sexual orientation. should have the right to marry and should have access to all of the legal rights and benefits we afford married couples. Mr. Speaker. my colleagues and I plan to address both of these important issues on the floor of the peoples House this afternoon. I want to start by talking about the legislation that was reported out by the Ways and Means Committee this week. If Congress authorizes TPAs fasttrack authority. this President and every President elected after him will have the unprecedented authority to negotiate and sign sweeping trade agreements with little opportunity for Congress to intercede on behalf of the many Americans those deals inevitably impact. In the past. those agreements havent turned out great for American workers here at home. which is all the more important reason that Congress should be able to retain the ability to fight for what is in the best interests of our constituents. After 6 years of secretive negotiations for the TransPacific Partnership agreement. we havent been given much motivation to release any of this oversight. Offering fasttrack authority for the TPP means that we press fastforward on policies that put American families health at risk on policies that are challenging our chemical safeguards. on policies allowing unregulated and potentially contaminated food products into the United States. We lose our chance to question policies that would allow foreign corporations to skirt our courts and demand taxpayer compensation when they feel they have been violated by U.S. laws. Our constituents are relying on us to stand up for their interests on TPP and on every future trade agreement to come down the line. We cannot pass the buck on this. and I know that our first speaker today agrees with me. I want to talk a little bit about the State of New Jersey because the State of New Jersey has seen what can happen when trade deals go bad: factories close. employees are laid off. and cities that have previously made things that have been bought by consumers around the world are suddenly faced with stunted economies and surges in unemployment. My capital district-"Trenton makes. the World Takes"-is an illustration of what was a great economy in that locale. That is why it is so important that this body ensures we only sign these agreements when we are sure they will help. not hurt. working families. I yield now to another Member who is deeply familiar with the issues in New Jersey. my friend and my fellow freshman from New Jersey .