Bill Pascrell: “I rise this afternoon to speak on an issue that for too long we have known about but have done little to nothing to…”

“I rise this afternoon to speak on an issue that for too long we have known about but have done little to nothing to address on either side of the aisle. That issue is our growing trade inequity, which continually puts American manufacturers at a disadvantage and which has cost too many Americans their jobs. I introduced bipartisan legislation, H.R. 2927, with my colleague, Representative Walter Jones. So we've got Republicans on this bill, and we've got Democrats on this bill. It offers one path toward equalizing our growing trade inequity; but instead of having a thoughtful debate, we are again confronted by misinformation and, in this case, by an entirely unfounded and false fear of new taxes being imposed. So, Mr. Speaker, I want to state for the record that H.R. 2927, the Border Tax Equity Act, has a singular mission--to stop the offshoring of American jobs. It does not impose a value-added tax. In fact, this legislation is geared to fight a value-added tax, which would be imposed by foreign nations on American-made products. The Border Tax Equity Act stands up against foreign export subsidies and trade barriers that offshore U.S. jobs. Who is talking about this? When are we going to begin to protect American jobs? We can have all of the job creation and all of the stimulus. If we don't get to the heart of the issue, we are going to lose any manufacturing edge that we have. We are not a service job country.”