Orrin Hatch: “Today I rise to give my complete support for Ambassador Susan Schwab who will become our Nation's Trade Representative.…”

“Today I rise to give my complete support for Ambassador Susan Schwab who will become our Nation's Trade Representative. I have been dismayed that the Senate did not move more quickly on this nomination. I have also been disappointed by the opinions, of some, who state that her nomination is an indication that the administration is deemphasizing trade policy. Obviously, these individuals do not know Ambassador Schwab. I, on the other hand, have had that privilege of working with her and join the vast majority of my colleagues in stating that that Ambassador Schwab is a tenacious, forceful, yet thoughtful advocate of our Nation's trade agenda. Our Nation is at a critical juncture. In 2005, the United States trade deficit widened to a record $726 billion, increasing to 5.8 percent of the Gross Domestic Product from 5.3 percent in 2004, and 4.5 percent in 2003. Many economists now describe the trade deficit as unsustainable. For example, C. Fred Bergsten, Director of the Institute for International Economics, has pointed out ``the United States must now attract almost $7 billion of capital from the rest of the world every day to finance our current account deficit and our own foreign investment outflows.'' In order to meet these challenges, we need our best and brightest working on solutions.…”