Mark Pocan: “Thank you, Representative Polis from Colorado. Again, you have been an outstanding advocate on behalf of the American…”

“Thank you, Representative Polis from Colorado. Again, you have been an outstanding advocate on behalf of the American worker. And I too did the exact same thing. I looked at sections of this, and my staff weren't allowed; but even more troubling, I wasn't allowed to take notes about the language of these agreements. But from what I saw in the agreements was definitely no better than past agreements and very likely could be worse when it comes to labor standards and when it comes to our procurement policies allowing us to have Buy American laws. So the Congressional Progressive Caucus today really wanted to highlight the American worker. And the two issues that we wanted to highlight tonight, one was the need to raise the minimum wage, something we expect the Senate may be taking up yet this year, and that we hope this body will take up. And let's raise that minimum wage to $10.10, just like the proposal that we have before Congress. Secondly, let's make sure we have fair trade deals, not just free trade, but fair trade deals that protect the American worker, protect the environment, protect our businesses around intellectual property and other concerns. We can do that. And the Congressional Progressive Caucus will continue to do that. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. ____________________”