Mike Levin: “Mr. Speaker, today's votes are not about the merits of liberalizing or opening up foreign markets to American goods and…”

“Mr. Speaker, today's votes are not about the merits of liberalizing or opening up foreign markets to American goods and services. Democrats and Republicans both support doing that because over 90 percent of our consumers live outside the United States borders. I represent a congressional district whose economy relies heavily on exports, but my district is also deeply concerned about the process by which economies liberalize and the effects these liberalizations have on working families and the environment in which they live. Process is very important. Read James Madison. The rules that the Congress laid out in the fast track bill were not met. Fast track requires the U.S. Trade Representative to consult with several private-sector advisory committees to seek their opinion about trade agreements, but Mr. Zoellick refused to provide these committees with the final text of the agreements before they were required by law to respond. Many on the committees voiced frustration over this.”