Jon S. Corzine: “I offer this amendment to protect the role of Congress and elected State and local officials in determining the nature…”

“I offer this amendment to protect the role of Congress and elected State and local officials in determining the nature and scope of significant public services. It is one thing for Congress to sacrifice its own prerogatives in the development of trade policy, as we will likely do today with the passage of trade promotion authority; however, in my view, it goes much too far to delegate constitutional responsibilities of elected officials when it comes to determining what are public services and what significant public services should be managed in the public sector. My amendment stands for the simple proposition that trade agreements should not be used to privatize public services--public services duly directed by constitutionally authorized actors of our Nation's democratic processes.”