[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 78 (Wednesday, May 20, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3089-S3090]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 TRADE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, yesterday Senator Warner, a Democrat, 
and Senator Ernst, a Republican, joined me in hosting a press 
conference with small business owners on the benefits of trade for 
entrepreneurs. I want to thank them both for coming. I thank Senator 
Warner, in particular, for helping to lead his party on this issue.
  We were joined by small business owners with some pretty incredible 
stories. These Americans highlighted opportunities that knocking down 
unfair overseas barriers to American products can provide to us here at 
home.
  My favorite, obviously, was Chase Robbins, a constituent of mine from 
Shelbyville. After Chase was medically discharged from the Army, he was 
able to scrape together $1,600 with a buddy and start the kind of 
business he had already dreamed of as early as 2010. It is a business 
that specializes in just the kind of thing you would expect a young guy 
such as Chase to be into--high-performance auto parts. And, thanks to 
trade, it is now both a business that exports a percentage of its 
products and one that also employs fellow Kentuckians.
  His is a small business with just three employees for now--just three 
for

[[Page S3090]]

now--but it is a small business that is allowing him to live his dreams 
and to help others live theirs, too. It is a story countless other 
Americans know all too well and one we should do everything to 
encourage. Yet, while Chase has achieved success thanks to trade, he 
knows there is still a lot more we should be doing if the aim is to 
help businesses grow, help his employees earn more, and help other 
Kentuckians live their dreams too.
  Here is what Chase said yesterday:

       As our business has grown internationally, we have been 
     confronted with barriers that compromise global markets. It 
     was not long after sending our first shipment overseas that 
     we realized trade rules were outdated for our business. Most 
     of the agreements and rules were written before small 
     businesses like ours were able to fully utilize the internet 
     to exploit the global market. Trade agreements offer the best 
     chance to lower barriers and increase market access for small 
     companies like mine. We see a bright future for . . . 
     companies like ours in the export market but we need new 
     trade deals to get there.

  And this, Mr. President, is a business with three employees that is 
exporting products.
  So here was Chase's solution: ``Trade Promotion Authority is the 
first step towards modernizing trade agreements,'' he said, ``and I 
encourage Congress to pass TPA as soon as possible.''
  Entrepreneurs such as Chase know that the United States does not have 
many trade barriers, but other countries do. They know that many of 
these barriers are extremely unfair to American workers and American 
products. They know that passing trade promotion authority is the way 
to address such an unfair situation.
  Our friends on the far left may try to cynically spin their war 
against the future of something other than what it truly is, but we all 
know better. It is no wonder President Obama has called them ``wrong'' 
and suggested that they make stuff up. What happens if the far left 
actually succeeds in its apparent quest to retain foreign tariffs that 
unfairly impact American workers and their paychecks? How is that good 
for us?
  It would mean lost opportunities for American risk takers such as 
Chase and the employees who entrepreneurs such as him care about. It 
would mean lost opportunities for American manufacturers, lost 
opportunities for Kentucky farmers, and lost opportunities for more 
jobs, better wages, and a growing economy that can lift everyone up.
  Jobs and a better economy are the kinds of things I am going to 
continue to fight for. I think the legislation before us represents a 
great opportunity to do so. President Obama agrees, as well. So I am 
going to keep working to get votes on amendments--both Republican and 
Democrat amendments.
  There have been objections from the other side of the aisle. I would 
remind our colleagues that even with my strong support, the Senate 
cannot have a robust amendment process if every single amendment 
offered by Democrats or Republicans is objected to by our friends on 
the other side.
  Our bill managers, Senator Hatch and Senator Wyden, are working hard. 
We hope to get past these objections so that more amendments can be 
considered. But we will need cooperation. The Senate cannot vote on 
amendments that are being prevented.
  We hope to see more of that cooperation so we can pass good, fair, 
and enforceable trade legislation that will benefit our country and so 
many of the people we represent.

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