Amodei: Arguments opposing Trade Promotion Authority no longer resemble reality
Submitted by editor on Thu, 06/18/2015 - 12:37pm
Congressman Mark Amodei, NV-2, voted Thursday in favor of legislation known as Trade Promotion Authority, which would set parameters and restrictions on the negotiations of a free trade agreement known as the Trans Pacific Partnership and provide for an up or down vote on the resulting agreement. It passed the House 218 to 208.
The TPA bill has been available to the public online for more than a month. Amodei released the following statement:
“Contrary to what some would have you believe, a vote for Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) is not a vote for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which will be negotiated based on the guidance contained in TPA. For once, this is not an executive overreach. The President is within his Constitutional authority to negotiate international agreements. TPA is Congress’ legal opportunity to direct those negotiations. With the passage of TPA, Congress will have the opportunity to approve or reject the TPP on its merits, for which a strong case can be made.
“Free trade is a Ronald Reagan, bedrock conservative principle, which produces numerous jobs for Nevadans and increases their purchasing power. Unfortunately, it is a testament to the credibility, or the lack thereof, of this Administration and this Congress that something as pro-growth and pro-jobs as free trade, not to mention Constitutional authority and Congressional oversight, are meeting a campaign of skepticism and misinformation. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, skepticism of your federal government is both healthy and warranted. I understand it completely. But with all due respect to the pundits and bloggers, your arguments opposing TPA no longer resemble reality.
“As a guy who represents a district with free trade zone status, manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, cattle, minerals and gaming, I am going to side with the 134,400 Nevadans whose jobs are supported by trade with TPP countries and directly impacted by this TPA. Given the choice, I am happy to vote opposite of Nancy Pelosi on this issue and feel we have done our homework to make a decision based on sound policy and not on the commercial spin culture.”
