James Moran: “I want to address myself particularly to the Democratic side of the aisle, not necessarily to all of the Democratic…”

“I want to address myself particularly to the Democratic side of the aisle, not necessarily to all of the Democratic Caucus, because I understand that many of us are in districts that have high concentrations of organized labor, have high concentrations of textiles and other industries that could be adversely affected by trade. But I know that there are at least 60 Members who represent districts that are highly dependent upon trade, that in fact represent the highest economic growth sectors of this economy; technology, telecommunications, professional services products throughout the manufacturing sector benefit from international trade. All of our constituents benefit by lower prices in products and services as a result of trade. In fact, all of us have constituents whose incomes are 15 percent greater because they are in export-related jobs. The reality is that this bill in fact, is bipartisan, and nobody outside the boundaries of the Beltway cares about personalities or process. They look at policy. From a policy standpoint, we have enforceable standards on labor and the environment. We have the availability of the use of sanctions for all such negotiating objectives. We have transparency in all commercial transactions. This is the most substantial progress in U.S. trade policy with respect to labor and the environment that we have ever had the opportunity to vote for. This is a good bill. It is one we should all support. I urge its approval.”