Providing for Consideration of the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1314, Ensuring Tax Exempt Organizations the Right to Appeal Act, and Providing for Consideration of the Senate Amendments to H.R. 644, Fighting Hunger Incentive Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, the only way to get better trade agreements is to reject this fast-track bill and develop a better alternative that reflects our values and the realities of the 21st century.

As one who has supported legislation for more trade with most of the countries that are TPP agreement countries, I would like to support more trade today, but, as happened in the Ways and Means Committee, this rule shuts out every single attempt of Democrats to strengthen and improve this bill.

These Fast Trackers--they say they want free trade. Well how about trade that is free of secrecy and connivance? How about trade that is free of deals that jeopardize our the health and safety such as the food that we eat as American families? How about trade that is free of corporate panels that will be able to award taxpayer dollars to foreign corporations with more rights than American businesses, instead of relying on our system of justice?

I think we have to look at the trade agreements we have had in the past--the free trade agreements--and realize that, for too many American workers, they haven't been free. They have come at a tremendous cost. This trade agreement has been shrouded in secrecy in order to assure there is not a full and fair debate or a discussion of the failures of the USTR.

The USTR, as of right now, has not shared with this Congress a single document to show how Vietnam, instead of being the great human rights abuser it is today, will begin to show even the slightest measure of decency to its workers. The USTR has ignored the record of sex trafficking and human trafficking in Malaysia. One of the worst and in a category by itself with North Korea--and a handful of others--in human trafficking. And they are being rewarded in this deal.

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Mr. DOGGETT. Too often, the USTR simply does not believe in law enforcement. It wouldn't enforce the law in Guatemala and Honduras under prior labor agreements. In Peru, it ignored the audit responsibility that it had.

We can do better than this. We can do better than some kind of Christmas

wish list of multiple objectives that this President doesn't have to follow. And indeed, this Christmas wish list is being proposed for the next President, who has not even been elected--an open-ended ability to have more trade agreements that come at the cost of too many families. We can do better.

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