Orrin Hatch: “I rise to speak in support of the amendment filed by my colleague from South Dakota. This amendment deals with an…”

“I rise to speak in support of the amendment filed by my colleague from South Dakota. This amendment deals with an important issue, namely, the cost of delay when it comes to free-trade agreements. The President's desire to increase spending on TAA--an expensive domestic spending program of debatable worth--at a time when taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet during a recession makes no sense to me. His strategy to link passage of FTAs to renewal of this expanded TAA program is equally perplexing. TAA is meant to assist workers who have allegedly lost their jobs due to trade. But the administration has repeatedly stated that the three pending trade agreements will create jobs, not cause people to lose them. According to the Business Roundtable, passage of the three pending trade agreements will support 250,000 American jobs. Since jobs will be created rather than lost, it makes no sense to link the passage of an expanded version of trade adjustment assistance to these three FTAs. In fact, the only jobs lost to date have been those caused by the President's refusal to send these FTAs to Congress. His refusal to act has caused U.S. farmers, manufacturers, and service providers to cede market share to our competitors in Panama, Colombia, and South Korea.…”