Bill Pascrell: “we need to get one thing straight here before I start, and that is that those of us who oppose this trade agreement are…”

“we need to get one thing straight here before I start, and that is that those of us who oppose this trade agreement are not against trade, are not against exchange. How dare anybody stand on this floor and refer to the 9/11 Commission's report. Chapter 12. I have read the 9/11 Commission's report, by the way. I think that is a good start. The 9/11 Commission report, chapter 12, talks about global strategy. If you read the entire chapter and you want to talk about strategy, trade must be part of when we are communicating with other countries. There is no question about it. For those of us who believe that we need to support this trade deal, this unfair trade deal, and it is going to help workers in Oman, as well as the workers in the United States of America, I don't know what you need to refer to. Because the State Department, our own State Department, says that foreign workers at times were placed in a situation amounting to forced labor in Oman. This deal isn't for workers. This deal is for the few, like most of the trade agreements that we have given into. We have surrendered our ability, as a branch of the government of this country, under Article I, section 8, that the Congress be in charge of commerce. We have surrendered our ability to be trade negotiators to the executive branch of government. I have high hopes for Oman and its people. We need more moderate and forward-thinking nations like Oman in the Middle East.…”