[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16173]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       FAST TRACK TRADE AUTHORITY

  (Ms. SCHAKOWSKY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, on June 30, 2007, Fast Track trade 
authority will expire. Now is the time for Congress to replace an 
outdated system that removes congressional authority, as set out in the 
Constitution, ``to regulate commerce with foreign nations.''
  As it stands with Fast Track in place, Congress has no control over 
the content of trade agreements. We can vote on trade agreements only 
after they have been negotiated and signed, but we are responsible for 
trade agreements negative effects. Over 3 million American 
manufacturing jobs have been lost.
  American wages have stagnated. We have lost our family farms, and we 
have failed to encourage income equality in the developing nations with 
which we have trade agreements. That's after Fast Track.
  Let's replace Fast Track with a better system. Congress should be 
able to decide with whom we negotiate trade agreements and what goes 
into those agreements. Let's restore the balance of powers on trade 
established in the Constitution.

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