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July 27, 2002
STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE JANE HARMAN
ON TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY CONFERENCE REPORT
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Representative Harman made the following
statement on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives:
Some days are harder than others. The last 24 hours was excruciating.
The votes on establishing a Department of Homeland Security were difficult,
but its urgency is underscored by the continuing threat from terrorism.
Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) is another hard issue. I represent a
trade-dependent district and am well aware that LAX and the Port of Los
Angeles are huge trade multipliers. The Port of Los Angeles and neighboring
Port of Long Beach moved $175 billion worth of cargo last year and accounted
for 500,000 trade-related jobs in the region. The Los Angeles Customs
District is the nation's second largest, based on value of two-way trade.
In 2001, this totaled $212.5 billion, compared with $214.1 billion of
the first place New York.
In the South Bay, trade clearly generates high skill, high wage jobs.
But not everyone benefits, and so the conversation about trade should
properly address those who are hurt. The challenge is to retrain affected
workers, not freeze them and their outdated skills in an uncompetitive
workplace. The policy answer is to provide what has traditionally been
called trade adjustment assistance (TAA) - training, wage assistance,
and healthcare - to those who are hurt.
I voted
against TPA last December because the Administration refused to include
TAA in the legislation. The conference report we vote on tonight does
not make the same mistake. The TAA package is three times as big as any
ever proposed, and includes most of the improvements proposed by the Eshoo-Bentsen
bill (HR
3670 - Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers, Farmers, Fishermen, Communities,
and Firms Act of 2002) which I cosponsored and strongly support.
This TPA enables displaced workers to purchase group healthcare with
an advanceable and refundable tax credit and expands coverage to include
workers whose jobs as suppliers to other manufacturers are affected by
trade. It provides wage insurance for older workers who lose their jobs
to trade and fills part of the gap between their old and new earnings,
and it doubles the funding for job training to $220 million per year.
For the first time, this legislation requires labor and environmental
issues be given the same consideration as other negotiating objectives.
It provides the US with remedies against countries that degrade their
labor and environmental laws and requires increased consultations with
Congress through a Congressional advisory board.
Trade plus trade adjustment assistance is good for American workers.
Trade plus greater respect for labor and environment is good for the world's
workers.
This agreement is not perfect, but it is better than prior
trade negotiating authority and includes the most comprehensive TAA package
ever. I will support it.
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