[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6457-6458]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to bring light to the 
secretive, job-killing global trade pact called the Trans-Pacific 
Partnership, the TPP. Supporters want to rush it through Congress using 
a procedure called fast-track authority, which forces a vote with no 
opportunity to amend the deal. This should alarm all Americans.
  In its current form, this deal would outsource even more of America's 
good jobs out from under our working families, degrade global 
environmental and working standards, and cause investor rights to 
override worker rights. It propels a global race to the bottom.
  The trade ambassador and the administration assert that the TPP has 
strong and enforceable labor standards and environmental commitments. 
The TPP includes four nations--Mexico,

[[Page 6458]]

Brunei, Vietnam, and Malaysia--that are notorious labor and human 
rights violators.
  They are already out of compliance with the standards supposedly in 
TPP. Frankly, our U.S. Trade Representative has had a bad habit of 
sweeping trade violations right under the rug.
  Our history of trade agreements in Guatemala, Honduras, and Colombia 
show the need for stronger obligations and a rigorous plan for 
implementing and overseeing them.
  Including commitments in the final agreement is not enough. These 
nations have to change their laws and practices, and we have to enforce 
them.
  Mr. Speaker, we should vote against TPP because what is going to 
happen is more American workers will be cashed out, and exploited 
workers around the world will find life gets harder.

                          ____________________