Date: 2010-09-29
Speaker: TIM MURPHY (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

I thank the gentleman for yielding. And I thank my colleague TIM RYAN. who is the Democrat lead in this. and I am the Republican lead on this. We know this is an important bill. You know. the perfect is the enemy of the necessary. We are arguing about trade policies. what the WTO might think. what China might think. what negotiations might happen while the American people are out there saying. What are you doing about our jobs? China has been involved in a number of things. such as steel dumping and dumping products here. and setting these unfair currency practices which lead to up to a 40 percent discount. And while American companies see their factories close and American workers get their pink slips. they wonder if Washington gets it. Well. we do. and today is our chance to make good on that. There was a time when "Made in the USA" was a standard for the world. It was a matter of fact that you owned the best. We earned that esteem. And now we are about to lose our position as a global leader when next year China overtakes us as the biggest manufacturer in the world. You know. the trouble is that China has never really accepted the basic rules of fair trade. and thats what were standing for in this bill. fair trade. Former Bush administration Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said that Chinas currency valuation does not yet adequately respond to market forces. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said similar things. believing that China is manipulating its currency. President Obama said the same thing and said. We need a twoway street. But unfortunately. when President Obama goes to talk to the Chinese. they push him back in a corner because weve got $800 billion in debt to them. and they continue to stall and stall. Now I dont care who is in the White House. Republican. Democrat. whoever. But I dont want another country saying to my President that we are not going to talk to you about these things and somehow make it sound like it is the United States fault. This is an issue that Republicans and Democrats alike are backing. and action delayed is action denied. Only when our government starts pursuing policies that cultivate rather than stifle American manufacturing and holds China and other trading partners fully accountable for cheating on trade will we begin to revitalize that manufacturing sector which we have lost ground on. If we unleash our factories and workers from the constraints of an overly burdensome taxation and regulatory requirements. giving them the tools they need to ensure that all countries play fair and by the rules. the American manufacturer will win in the global marketplace every time. With its dedicated workforce and demonstrated ingenuity. American manufacturing has a chance not just to repair our economy. not just lead us out of debt and deficit. but to create hundreds of thousands of new. wellpaying. highquality jobs. We in Congress must do everything we can to support American manufacturing in this goal and not stand in their way and not quietly wring our hands and worry. We can start by passing the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act tomorrow. because in matters of economic and job diplomacy. we can speak softly. but it sure is nice to carry a big stick.