Steve Lynch: “I don't know what it means when someone calls something a no-brainer and then he takes credit for it, but I rise in…”

“I don't know what it means when someone calls something a no-brainer and then he takes credit for it, but I rise in opposition. First of all, I want to say that I have enormous respect for the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin), and Mr. Neal, who is also part of this, Mr. McCrery, Mr. Herger. Look, while I commend my friends for their work in incorporating the International Labor Standards in this agreement, and that is an accomplishment, and I concede that, I must say that, for the record, Peru has already adopted the eight core International Labor Standards in their country already, and yet the record also indicates that, number one, based on the ILO reports, that we've got 2 million children working right now in Peru. It also indicates, the same reports, that 33,000 people are currently subject to forced labor in the Amazon region. Our own State Department reports that there is extensive noncompliance with the minimum wage guidelines, and that more than half of the population in Peru earns the minimum wage. You know what the minimum wage in Peru is? $3.60 a day.”