Don Nickles: “I do not think the amendment my colleagues from West Virginia and Maryland offered should be included in the bill. I…”

“I do not think the amendment my colleagues from West Virginia and Maryland offered should be included in the bill. I think it is a killer amendment. I am concerned what people are trying to do in loading up the trade promotion authority bill. They know President Bush wants trade promotion authority, as every President has wanted trade promotion authority. Every President wants to negotiate trade deals because they realize if we are going to be the world leader in trade, we need to expand trade. We have been the beacon, the leader for trade all across the world. President Reagan, whom we honored today with a Congressional Gold Medal, was adamant in saying we want to expand trade. We did so, and that greatly contributed to the fall of communism. It opened up markets. It created jobs. It led to a robust world economy. Everybody started realizing that trade is mutually beneficial, we should pass trade promotion authority, and every President has had trade promotion authority going all the way up, including President Clinton.”