Mike Levin: “Mr. Chairman, this proposed amendment, proposed proposition, puts its finger on the pulse of a problem, but it is at…”

“Mr. Chairman, this proposed amendment, proposed proposition, puts its finger on the pulse of a problem, but it is at this juncture very much the wrong prescription. We have a new set of problems in this world economically. Fifteen years ago globalization meant our trade with Europe and Japan. In the last decade it has meant our trade relations with developing economies, and that is increasingly so since we voted on this 3 years ago. It has created all kinds of new issues. We do need new rules of competition. We are dealing with economies that are very different from our economy, and they have all kinds of subsidies, and they have all kinds of different labor market rules. They have all different kinds of rules, period. We need to face up to this, and we have not fully. But a piecemeal or potshot approach to these serious problems is not the answer. We need a comprehensive set of policies, and we do not need slogans like 'slush funds' or 'giveaways' or 'loans' thrown all together. The proposition with Mexico was not a slush fund or a giveaway, it was a loan, under certain strict conditions, and the loans were repaid. We made money on them. We need to take a serious look at this. Three years ago we passed this, but a lot has changed since then. We have lots of currency problems with developing economies, a lot of them. Now Mexico is cited. Look, we need more than just a few minutes of discussion here.…”