Rob Portman: “I have come to the floor a number of times this week to talk about the trade issue, and we are now debating that…”

“I have come to the floor a number of times this week to talk about the trade issue, and we are now debating that legislation. I have put up this sign because it is being used by folks on our side of the aisle to talk about the importance of this agreement. It talks about a free and fair trade agreement for a healthy economy. I agree that it needs to be fair, and I agree we need to expand exports. I support for the first time in 7 years giving the U.S. Government the ability to knock down barriers to our farmers, our workers, and our service providers so we can get a fair shake, but we have to be sure it is fair. And so to my colleagues who have put up this sign and then have opposed the amendment I am about to talk about, I hope they will focus on the fair part as well as the expansion of trade to make sure it does indeed give our farmers and workers a fair shake. There has been a lot of debate about a particular amendment dealing with currency manipulation. It turns out everybody is against currency manipulation. Maybe that has been an evolution, but everybody is now saying the same thing. The question is whether it should be enforceable. Amendment No. 1299 There has been a lot of discussion on the floor here today about the amendment I am offering with Senator Stabenow, and frankly there has been some misinformation out here that I would like to clarify. First, I want to talk about what these two amendments do. They are very similar, with one exception.…”