Patty Murray: “The amendment that we will be voting on shortly says that the President can decide what violates NAFTA and what does…”

“The amendment that we will be voting on shortly says that the President can decide what violates NAFTA and what does not. Clearly, the arbitration panel makes that decision. The Senate effectively, I remind my colleagues, voted on the pending amendment when we tabled the Gramm-McCain amendment by a vote of 65-35. That amendment, as the amendment we will vote on shortly, is really a wolf in sheep's clothing. It is designed to gut the safety provisions in this bill by allowing the President to waive whatever safety provision in the bill he does not like. If the Appropriations Committee thought that the DOT's plans to address the safety risks posed by Mexican trucks were adequate, we wouldn't have put the important safety provisions into this bill. What this amendment does say is, OK, administration, whatever safety requirements in this bill you don't like, find a White House attorney who will say it is a violation of NAFTA.”