Orrin Hatch: “First of all, I want to thank Senator Wyden for his efforts in trying to accommodate the priorities of Members of the…”

“First of all, I want to thank Senator Wyden for his efforts in trying to accommodate the priorities of Members of the Senate during debate on this bill. We have been hard at work trying to address various concerns. Now, as we approach a final vote, we need to talk about some outstanding issues that we have not been able to resolve during this debate. Specifically, there are four issues that we are committed to addressing. First, during this debate we developed language to address Member concerns about immigration policy, particularly the concerns that trade negotiations could be used to alter U.S. immigration law or policy. An amendment filed by Senator Cruz during the floor debate clarified this issue. Second, one of the provisions of the TPA bill relates to forced labor and human trafficking. Senator Menendez championed an effort to include these provisions in the bill reported by the Finance Committee. Since that time, Senator Menendez worked with us to refine these provisions and to improve their operation. We supported an amendment filed by Senator Menendez to make these refinements. There is also strong bipartisan interest in providing more robust direction for trade in the fishing industry. Senator Sullivan has been a leader in this area. Finally, there were proposed amendments to strengthen U.S. trade remedy laws. Senators Brown and Portman were key leaders in this area and filed an amendment to address this issue on the floor. We supported this amendment as well.…”