Rich Neal: “up until the vote in the Committee on Ways and Means last week, I had truly been undecided by this issue. I believe in…”

“up until the vote in the Committee on Ways and Means last week, I had truly been undecided by this issue. I believe in the benefits of free trade, but that does not mean that one signs up for a bad deal; that is why I voted against NAFTA. But as a supporter of annual renewal of normal trade relations with China, I found it hard to be adamantly opposed to doing in one vote what I was prepared to do on a year-by-year basis, especially considering the benefits of the agreement to the United States. I take human rights, labor rights, religious freedom and environmental protection seriously, and no Member of this House has had a stronger labor voting record over the last 12 years. But I find it hard to accept the notion that the failure to move China sufficiently on these issues meant that we had to continue the same old strategy. I took seriously the argument that China has never lived up to its trade agreements in the past, and it certainly bothers me, and I think it will be a long-term struggle to get China to fully implement this agreement, a job with a greater chance of success if we work within the world community, rather going our own way. I believe the Levin-Bereuter proposal to be crucial to this vote and want to commend both gentlemen for their outstanding efforts.”