[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 13, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S2845]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, yesterday, I voted in opposition to 
cloture on fast-track trade promotion authority.
  This was a difficult vote for me. Maryland is pulled in two 
directions on this issue. On one side Maryland's agricultural 
industries, such as poultry on the Eastern Shore and the Port of 
Baltimore, where they believe this trade deal will bring economic 
benefits for the State. On the other side, I have constituents in 
Dundalk who don't have a steel industry anymore and wonder why Congress 
didn't do more to protect them from the effects of trade.
  Let me be very clear on one point. I support trade. I encourage 
trade. Trade is very important to my State. Maryland workers can 
compete successfully in a global marketplace if they are given a level 
playing field. That is why I support expansion of fair trade.
  In the past, I have supported bilateral trade agreements. We have 
leverage in those situations and can get strong, enforceable labor and 
environmental provisions into those agreements to improve living 
standards and stop child labor in sweatshops. But I have always been 
suspicious of multilateral agreements like NAFTA. I have seen too many 
of these big deals fail to deliver the promises of new jobs and 
businesses.
  Why is the role of Congress so important? To make sure the American 
people get a good deal. I am ready to support trade agreements that are 
good for America, agreements that are good for workers and good for the 
environment. Congress should consider trade legislation and amendments 
using the same procedures we use to consider other legislation.
  We should use the leverage of our trade agreements to ensure fair 
competition. That means workers in other countries should have the 
right to organize into unions. Without the strength of collective 
bargaining, their wages will always be below ours. They should also 
have worker safety protection and retirement and health care benefits.
  We should use the leverage of our trade agreements to encourage 
countries to respect the basic human rights of their citizens. Everyone 
deserves the right to live in a healthy, clean, unpolluted environment, 
and every worker should be guaranteed their fundamental rights at work.
  When considering trade deals, I also have to consider the impact on 
my State of Maryland. I am a blue-collar Senator. My heart and soul 
lies with blue-collar America. I spent most of my life in a blue-collar 
neighborhood. My mother and father owned a neighborhood grocery store. 
When Bethlehem Steel went on strike, my dad gave those workers credit. 
My career and public service is one of deep commitment to working-class 
people. In the last decade, working people have faced the loss of jobs, 
lower wages, a reduced standard of living, and a shrinking 
manufacturing base.
  I believe that a renewal of fast-track negotiating authority means 
more Americans will lose their jobs in the name of free trade. More 
people will get TAA benefits, but more people will need them.
  Proponents of fast-track say it is inevitable that there will be 
winners and losers. The problem is America's workers and their families 
always seem to be the losers. They lose their jobs. If they keep their 
jobs or find new jobs, they lose the wage rates they have earned. I 
have said before that I don't want to put American jobs on a fast-track 
to Mexico or a slow boat to China.
  I had to base my decision on the facts and what I know to be true in 
my State. I have to be with my constituents who have felt repeatedly 
betrayed by the trade deals. I voted to stand up for American workers 
and consumers. I voted to stand up for the right and responsibility of 
Congress to fully consider trade agreements. That is why I voted 
against cloture on fast-track.

                          ____________________