[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 144 (Thursday, September 22, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                       TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 22, 2016

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in the Congressional 
Progressive Caucus in strong opposition to the Trans-Pacific 
Partnership.
   When it comes to trade deals and American jobs, Congress should 
NEVER be a rubber stamp.
   As the representative from California's beautiful 13th Congressional 
district, I have the honor and privilege of representing the Port of 
Oakland, one of our nation's busiest sea and airport facilities.
   I support trade because it is critical to the economy of my district 
and our nation.
   But trade is only good when it's fair, open, transparent and creates 
good-paying American jobs. The TPP fails to meet even one of these 
standards.
   Quite simply, TPP is a bad deal that would ship American jobs 
overseas and help the 1 percent reap even greater profits.
   The American people aren't fooled by TPP. The vast majority of 
Americans--including people from both parties--oppose the Trans-Pacific 
Partnership.
   In particular, I'd like to highlight how previous bad trade deals 
have hurt American workers, families and businesses, especially in 
communities of color.
   Since 1994, one in four manufacturing jobs in my home state of 
California has been lost because of NAFTA and other WTO agreements.
   But this didn't just happen in California. From 1998 through 2012, 
under NAFTA:
   79,000 manufacturing jobs, nearly half of manufacturing jobs, were 
lost in St. Louis,
   82,000 manufacturing jobs, also nearly half of manufacturing jobs, 
were lost in Cleveland, and
   25,000 manufacturing jobs were lost in Baltimore.
   Given the large number of people of color in these cities, these 
jobs lost took a particular toll on these communities.
   In fact--nationwide, thirty-five percent of jobs lost because of our 
trade deficit with China came from communities of color.
   For those that lost their jobs, the situation went from bad to 
worse--when they finally found a new job, not an easy task in many 
communities of color, their paychecks were cut by nearly 30 percent.
   This is outrageous. These lost jobs and wages cost these communities 
of color more than 10 million dollars each and every year.
   As Members of Congress, we simply cannot allow another, even worse 
trade deal to drive these communities deeper into poverty.
   But it isn't just jobs and paychecks that will suffer under the TPP; 
critical labor standards, environmental protections and human rights 
would be eroded as well.
   It would also restrict access to lifesaving drugs and artificially 
inflate drug prices.
   As co-chair of the bipartisan HIV/AIDS Caucus, I want to highlight 
that in July 2015, UNAIDS warned against the TPP's TRIPS-plus (Trade-
Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) measures because of 
negative impact on developing countries.
   This is why my colleagues and I are here saying NO to the TPP.
   It was negotiated in secret back rooms by special interests and 
multinational corporations. Nothing in this deal is good for the 
American people.
   Far from being the most progressive trade deal ever--this deal will 
ship American jobs overseas and create a race to the bottom for wages, 
environmental protections, labor standards and human rights.
   Let me be clear, the American people deserve better.
   We need a fair deal that creates U.S. jobs and grows our economy. We 
will continue to fight against this bad deal.

                          ____________________