[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 168 (Wednesday, October 23, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H8393]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             PASSING USMCA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Smith) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my 
colleagues to reconsider the unilateral push forward with impeachment. 
We have important and timely bipartisan issues to work on, such as 
passing USMCA.
  Canada and Mexico represent 34 percent of all U.S. exports--by far, 
our most important trading partners.
  The North American Free Trade Agreement that we know as NAFTA was 
written more than 25 years ago, and the world has changed dramatically 
since its enactment. President Trump has made the modernization of 
trade between our three countries a top priority and has allowed us the 
chance to make some much-needed updates. USMCA upgrades and modernizes 
NAFTA. It will boost our economy, and it is a win for farmers, 
producers, and, definitely, consumers.
  We have an opportunity to take action on trade, but the work must 
come first. It is our constitutional duty to start this process in the 
House. Delaying the enactment of USMCA hurts American jobs, border 
security, and agriculture, as well as innovation. We cannot afford to 
let this opportunity pass.
  Mr. Speaker, let's begin the work in the Ways and Means Committee, 
and let's get this done. It is time to pass USMCA.

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