Mike Levin: “The choice is clear. We have heard your rebuttal. Your bill does really nothing about the problem for people in…”

“The choice is clear. We have heard your rebuttal. Your bill does really nothing about the problem for people in manufacturing. If there is an outsourcing to China, the workers are out in the cold. That is cold, not like you. But it is cold. Service employees, why distinguish? It is an increasing part of our economy. You do nothing. In health care you put a little patch on a big problem, and that is not good health care. Essentially what you are trying to do with your substitute is to minimize the problem rather than maximizing an effective response. The 3 percent figure as to the impact of trade is really out of thin air. It is surely not true of manufacturing. Not at all true. Some who served in Republican administrations say it has been much more than that. In the capping of training, we heard the response from the representative of the administration. That $3,000 figure at best is an average, and even that is indefensible. Mr. McDermott read to you the number of States where training is much higher, so you essentially cut the worker off halfway. That's what you are going to do in terms of training. Seven States ran out of resources in 2007, nine in 2006; you do nothing. We need a new trade policy. We need a new, vigorous TAA. We need more than a pat on the back. Our bill does what needs to be done. I am afraid the substitute at best is a pat on the back. Let's vote it down. Let's have a bipartisan vote for this TAA. Bipartisan, as we did in the Ways and Means Committee.”