OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

America Gives More Act of 2015

Floor Speech

Date: June 12, 2015
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Trade

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Ms. LINDA T. SÁNCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express both strong concern and guarded optimism about the customs bill before us today.

I will be voting against the underlying bill before us today because of the drastic and unnecessary changes the bill makes to TPA provisions related to human trafficking, currency manipulation, and immigration policy. However, I remain optimistic that the customs provisions in this bill can become as strong as the Senate bill during conference.

Senators worked on a bipartisan basis to reach an agreement after nearly a decade of negotiations on how we should be enforcing our trade laws. I am now hoping that House Republicans will be part of getting these provisions across the finish line.

One of my biggest priorities for many years has been finding a way to combat the blatant abuse and duty evasion by some foreign producers that undercut American industry here. Foreign companies use schemes to avoid paying the duties they owe on goods that they import into the United States. That is why I have introduced and fought for the ENFORCE Act. For the first time, it finally feels like we are very close to getting this done.

And to that end, I want to thank Representatives TIBERI and BOUSTANY, along with Chairman Ryan, for several productive discussions on the best way to get this done in conference. I hope that we will be able to keep working on a bipartisan basis to get a final, bipartisan House customs bill.

Giving up on the opportunity to give real teeth to our enforcement procedures would not only be harmful to our economy, but it sends a message to manufacturers, employers, and U.S. workers that this Congress doesn't care about them. By increasing our customs security measures, we can ensure that American companies that play by the rules are not undercut by foreign competitors who cheat by evading duties on their goods.

I urge my colleagues to work to improve this bill by incorporating final language with some teeth. U.S. manufacturers have waited long enough to have customs enforcement that works.

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