Lloyd Bentsen: “I think that the bill before us today is actually a pretty good bill. I voted for the fast track bill that President…”

“I think that the bill before us today is actually a pretty good bill. I voted for the fast track bill that President Clinton sent up, and I think this bill is better than the bill that President Clinton sent up. I also think that this bill contains some items that this House has not seen until tonight. There has been a lot of discussion about the displaced worker provisions, the trade adjustment assistance. I have worked on that with others in this body, and I think, quite frankly, we have been arguing over whether the glass is half full or half empty. But I think, quite frankly, in this bill, if you look at the facts, the glass is at least three-quarters full from where we started in this House. It may not be as much as what was in the other body, but it has, for the first time, refundable health insurance for displaced workers. That is not in current law. It expands coverage for secondary workers and shifts in production where we have trade agreements. That is not in current law. It has wage insurance for older workers. That is not in current law. It now matches the training benefits with the monetary benefits. That is not in current law. And it extends them and it increases the appropriations dramatically. That is not in current law. I think this is good public policy.”