[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 163 (Wednesday, October 16, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5822-S5823]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement

  Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I rise to voice my strong support for 
the passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or the USMCA.
  When I travel the State of Nebraska, I always hear directly from our 
farmers and our ag producers. Nebraska's farmers have endured some of 
the most challenging setbacks in recent memory. The severe flooding 
from last spring devastated thousands of acres of our farm and our 
ranch land, brought hundreds of livestock deaths, and destroyed barns, 
countless grain bins, hay, and critical farm equipment. This list of 
daunting obstacles continues to grow.
  Last July, the Gering-Fort Laramie-Goshen irrigation tunnel collapsed 
and cut off a crucial source of surface irrigation water to the western 
region of our State for several weeks.
  Only a few days earlier, a devastating fire broke out in a Tyson beef 
processing plant in Holcomb, KS. The plant processed about 6,000 head 
of cattle every single day. That is roughly 6 percent of the total fed 
cattle processing capacity in the United States.
  The effects of the plant's closure rippled throughout the entire 
cattle industry and the beef processing chain. This is all in addition 
to 5 years of low commodity prices, the unfair small refinery 
exemptions for oil refiners, and the cloud of uncertainty over trade.
  While all of these factors have caused anxiety and unpredictability, 
there is one solution that Nebraska's farmers, ranchers, ag producers, 
manufacturers, and hard-working men and women have made clear, and that 
is the passage of the USMCA.
  Nebraska's farmers and ranchers have a different lifestyle than most 
people. Their patience is steadfast. They plan for the long term. They 
can envision how they want their land to look, not only next year but 
100 years into the future. It is in their DNA, and families are fed 
around the world because of it.
  They are optimists, but they are realists. As Secretary Perdue 
recently said, ``they know you can't plant in August and harvest in 
September.''
  That is exactly right. Our producers have remained patient during 
these tough and turbulent times because they know that there is an 
opportunity for a better, long-term trade solution on the horizon.
  The USMCA would replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade 
Agreement, or NAFTA, and bring the deal into the 21st century, while 
fortifying our strong trading relationships with Canada and Mexico and 
growing critical market access for Nebraska.
  The heart of Nebraska beats in the same rhythm as agriculture. It is 
who we are, and as the world knows that it is what we do better than 
anyone. So it is not hard to understand why our State needs this deal.
  America's neighbors to the north and south are the destination of 44 
percent of Nebraska's total exports. In 2017, Nebraska shipped $447 
million of agricultural products to Canada and a staggering $898 
million to Mexico. These exports include hundreds of millions of 
dollars' worth of Nebraska's high-quality corn, soybeans, ethanol, and 
beef.
  Specifically, the USMCA maintains and strengthens those markets for 
corn and soybeans. It also allows U.S. beef producers to continue to 
grow their exports to Mexico, which have risen 800 percent since NAFTA 
was first ratified.
  In 2018 alone, Nebraska exported over $250 million dollars of beef to 
both countries.
  It is important to note that the benefits of the USMCA extend far 
beyond our farmland. Agricultural trade between Canada and Mexico 
supports nearly 54,000 jobs in the State of Nebraska. According to the 
Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Nebraska's $6.4 billion in 
agricultural exports in 2017 translated into $8.19 billion in 
additional economic activity. For the good of our State and our Nation, 
these markets need to be protected.
  The USMCA goes even further than NAFTA. It adopts labor and 
environmental standards that Democrats have long advocated for. It 
requires that 40 to 45 percent of auto content be made by workers who 
earn at least $16 an hour by 2023. This will undoubtedly help close the 
gap in labor standards between our Nation and Mexico.
  According to the U.S. Trade Representative, the deal includes new 
provisions to prohibit the importation of goods produced by forced 
labor.
  The USMCA addresses violence against workers exercising their labor 
rights, and it ensures that migrant workers are protected under labor 
laws.
  The deal brings labor obligations into the core of the agreement, and 
most importantly, it makes them fully enforceable.
  On top of that, the USMCA deploys the most advanced, comprehensive 
set of environmental protections of any trade agreement in our Nation's 
history. The list of environmental protections includes first-ever 
articles to improve air quality, support forest management, and ensure 
procedures for studies on its environmental impact.
  New provisions protect a variety of marine species, such as whales 
and sea turtles, and there are prohibitions on shark finning.
  Unlike NAFTA, the USMCA provides enforcement mechanisms that will 
ensure that all countries not only meet but strengthen their 
environmental responsibilities.
  Lastly, I want to point out to my Democrat colleagues the support the 
USMCA is receiving on both sides of the aisle.
  I recently heard Tom Vilsack say this:

       I think under any evaluation, from the U.S. agriculture 
     perspective it clearly is a better deal. So, with that our 
     hope is that it gets done, and gets done soon.

  These are not the words of some Trump administration official. These 
are the words of President Obama's former Secretary of Agriculture.
  Here is another quote from Dan Glickman:

       We have a good agreement. We cannot let the perfect be the 
     enemy of the good. This is a good deal for America and 
     particularly a good deal for farmers at this vulnerable time.

  Again, this isn't support from some Republican Member of Congress. 
This is support that is voiced by President Clinton's former Secretary 
of Agriculture.
  What is more, all former Agriculture Secretaries since the Reagan 
administration have voiced their full support for the USMCA.
  We have seen the headlines of endorsements, and one especially caught 
my attention. The title of a recent op-ed read: ``Democrats Should Give 
Trump a Win on His Trade Deal with Mexico and Canada.'' Well, this 
piece wasn't composed by a conservative publication. It was penned by 
the editorial board of the Washington Post.
  Finally, a group of 14 House Democrats sent a letter to Speaker 
Pelosi last July urging her to take up the USMCA for a vote.
  The letter reads: ``Canada and Mexico are by far our most important 
trading partners, and we need to restore certainty in these critical 
relationships that support millions of American jobs.''
  Both sides of the aisle agree that the USMCA is a significant win for 
farmers, ranchers, ag producers, and America's economy as a whole.
  Nebraska's farmers and ranchers have maintained patience in these 
tough times. They deserve to know without a doubt that they will 
continue to have access to their two largest markets and closest 
trading partners.
  As I said earlier, farmers aren't just thinking about themselves. 
They are planning for the future generations that will proudly carry on 
their life's work and continue feeding our world.
  Right now, we have an opportunity to come together around a 
commonsense, bipartisan agreement that will benefit the American people 
both now and for years to come. Now it is up to Congress to deliver.
  I urge Speaker Pelosi to stop needlessly delaying this vote, and I 
encourage all of my Democrat colleagues not

[[Page S5823]]

to allow politics to stand in the way of sound policy. It is time to 
push the USMCA over the finish line.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mr. SASSE. Mr. President, first I would like to associate myself with 
the comments of my senior Senator about the necessity of the passage of 
the USMCA. The House of Representatives and the Speaker should schedule 
that vote immediately. There is clearly overwhelming support in both 
bodies for its passage.
  I would also like to underscore my senior Senator's comments about 
the tragedy of the irrigation tunnel collapse in Nebraska and about the 
character of Nebraska's farmers and ranchers. They have dealt with yet 
another catastrophe after 81 of our 93 counties went through a state of 
emergency earlier this year in a flood.
  I would like to just commend my senior Senator for a fine speech on a 
really important topic.
  (The remarks of Mr. Sasse pertaining to the submission of S.J. Res. 
58 are printed in today's Record under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')
  Mr. SASSE. I yield back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The measure will be received and appropriately 
referred.
  The Senator from Maryland.