[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 17, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H5926]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      FREE TRADE AMONG FREE PEOPLE

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, America's economic history is rooted in the 
exploitation of labor. It is a lesson worth remembering, but its 
history is not one of yesteryears alone.
  Our existing trade deals impose an economic model built on cheap 
labor, where profits matter more than people. This system undermines 
the rule of law with a global race to the bottom.
  Trade is not just about goods. It is about people. It is about 
communities. It is about workers.
  In the agriculture sector alone, one can argue that our continent has 
gone from slavery to serfdom. That is why, today, I am introducing the 
Independent Labor Secretariat for Fair Trade Deals Act.
  We need a trade model that respects workers and holds employers and 
workers accountable, with strong mechanisms for labor enforcement.
  My bill would establish an independent labor secretariat to monitor 
and enforce transnational labor issues, with a wages and standards 
working group with expert wage panels to study the impacts on wages, 
benefits, labor rights, working conditions, and inequality.
  The bill also requires that any trade agreement eligible for 
expedited consideration include enforceable labor standards and 
protections.
  Mr. Speaker, let us dignify the workers who sustain us.

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