Byron Dorgan: “the Senator and I are working on a piece of legislation we intend to introduce that would establish benchmarks for trade…”

“the Senator and I are working on a piece of legislation we intend to introduce that would establish benchmarks for trade agreements. We had a $1.5 billion trade surplus with Mexico. We did a trade agreement. Guess what. We turned that surplus into a huge deficit, a giant deficit, $60 billion to $70 billion a year. So we turned a surplus into a deficit, shipped a lot of U.S. jobs to Mexico. What we need is a trade agreement with benchmarks and accountability. Is this trade agreement meeting the objectives we developed for our country? After all, we are stewards of our country. We want our country to do well. Yes, we want to lift others. We want it to be a more prosperous world. But first we want this country to do well. Wouldn't it be the height of irony, an unbelievable perversion, if we passed a 'stimulus package,' and we borrow the money from China to put money in the hands of American families who can take it to Wal-Mart and buy a Radio Flyer little red wagon made in China.”