Chuck Grassley: “before I speak to the issue of the Oman Free Trade Agreement, I wish to take advantage of the opportunity to remind the…”

“before I speak to the issue of the Oman Free Trade Agreement, I wish to take advantage of the opportunity to remind the public that trade agreements are not treaties, as we usually think of treaties, with just the Senate approving treaties with a two- thirds vote and the House of Representatives having nothing to do with a treaty. A free-trade agreement is negotiated by the President but must be approved by both Houses of Congress the same way that legislation is passed, except it is done under a time agreement under law with the idea that the agreement will be voted up or down and not amended But when the dust settles, it is the law of our land, just like any other law that Congress would pass. Taking that into consideration then, the rationale behind that is the fact that the Constitution gives the Congress of the United States, as one of its specific 17 powers, the power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce. A free-trade agreement is foreign commerce. Congress has the authority completely--no questions asked--about what our trade laws are going to be. Until the 1930s, for the most part, Congress passed those pieces of legislation, and that was the law after the President signed them. But starting in the 1930s, Congress would, to a greater extent or lesser extent from time to time, give the President the authority to negotiate certain agreements, and then Congress would approve them.…”