Political Quotes

“Today I am introducing legislation to amend the budget rules as they apply to trade agreements so that a more accurate accounting of revenue collected by the Federal Government may be used to offset lost revenues resulting from the lowering of tariffs in trade legislation. Most importantly, this bill will ensure that trade agreements which lower tariffs will not be used as an opportunity to raise taxes on the American people. The current budget pay-as-you-go [PAYGO] rules require that any lost revenue to the Federal Government due to reduced tariff rates be offset by higher taxes or spending cuts. While I support the PAYGO process because it helps keep the deficit from growing even larger than it already is, I believe that trade agreements represent one situation where the PAYGO rules clearly do not make sense and are counterproductive. There is a broad consensus among the economic community that trade agreements which lower tariffs among trading partners generate economic activity which in turn leads to more taxable income to the Federal Government.”