[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 120 (Tuesday, July 28, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H8535]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TPP
(Ms. GABBARD asked and was given permission to address the House for
1 minute.)
Ms. GABBARD. Mr. Speaker, this week, trade ministers from 12 TPP
countries are gathering on Maui in my district in what is expected to
be the final negotiations of a massive trade agreement impacting 40
percent of the world's economy.
Not only were the American people shut out of this trade deal when
Congress passed fast-track authority legislation, these negotiations
continue, as we speak, in a shroud of secrecy, with the American people
reliant on sites like WikiLeaks as they seek information about how this
agreement will impact us.
The people of Hawaii and all Americans are rightfully concerned about
how this trade deal will impact our jobs, our families, our economy,
our environment, and our Nation's sovereignty.
We, the American people, deserve to know what is in this deal and to
have a say in what happens. How can a genuine public debate occur on a
deal as monumental as this when no one knows what is in it? It is hard
to imagine a deal more demanding of transparency.
People from Hawaii and around the world are gathering tomorrow on
Maui to protest this secret deal. They are sick and tired of
multinational corporations benefiting on the broken backs of working
class Americans, and they will not stop until their voices are heard.
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