On the recordJune 12, 2015
I thank Chairman Tiberi. Mr. Speaker, one of two things is going to happen: we are either going to lean forward and claim the best days of America, which are ahead of us, or we are going to recede from those. The choice is here and the choice is today, and I urge us to move forward because I truly believe, if we pursue an aggressive trade agenda and if the United States leads on that trade agenda, I think good things are going to happen. There is another part of this story, Mr. Speaker, as we have an opportunity to make history today as well. Included in the TPA is bipartisan legislation that I authored to shield Israel from being the victim of the insidious boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement that is brewing within Europe. This would be the first time in nearly four decades that Congress has taken action to combat boycotts against Israel. Just last week, we saw a telecom giant, Orange, which is a company partially owned by the French Government, recede back from doing business in Israel and so forth based on BDS pressure. The language I offered that was unanimously adopted is simple: If you want to trade with the United States, you can't boycott Israel. I want to thank Chairman Ryan and Chairman Tiberi for their leadership and Representative Vargas and Senators Portman and Cardin for working with me on these important issues.
