Florida Republican Congressman Connie Mack continued to lead the fight this week to getPresident Barack Obama to forward free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama to Congress.
While the agreements had been set, the White House delayed sending them as they sought Congress to reform the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, which helps American workers who lose their jobs due to increased trade. Despite an announcement in early April that an agreement had been reached, the White House and the Republican-controlled U.S. House are blaming each other for the lack of progress.
Speaking at the White House earlier in the month on the release of the jobs report, Obama insisted that the free-trade agreements could help jump-start the economy.
Congress can advance trade agreements that will help businesses sell more American-made goods and services to Asia and South America, supporting thousands of jobs here at home, said Obama. That could be done right now.
There are bills and trade agreements before Congress right now that could get all these ideas moving, added Obama. All of them have bipartisan support. All of them could pass immediately. And I urge Congress not to wait. The American people need us to do everything we can to help strengthen this economy and make sure that we are producing more jobs.
Obama returned to the subject on Friday, insisting that Republicans in Congress did not wish to back the TAA reforms and were holding up the trade agreements.
From his perch as chairman of the U.S. House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, Mack fired back this week, sending letters to Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday demanding the agreements be released by the end of the month.
As chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, and in light of the focus on the debt-ceiling vote, I am writing to urge you to send the pending free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama to Congress by July 29th, wrote Mack, who agreed with the president that the agreements could help the economy. In the midst of the debt-ceiling debate and an increase in unemployment, yesterday it was announced that Americas trade deficit increased by 15.1 percent in May to $50.2 billion, bringing our deficit to the highest it has been in almost three years. Our nations access to international markets and the wealth of our nation are directly related. Your delay in passage of these agreements closes off key export markets and continues to bring harm to our economy.
As you know, once the agreements are presented to Congress there is a 45-day requirement to allow the agreements to work their way through committee procedures, followed by a 15-day limit on passage of these agreements through both houses.As you also know, if Congress does not receive these agreements before the August recess, we will lose vital job growth and allies in our hemisphere, continued Mack. For too many years Ive watched these free-trade agreements languish in political quicksand. With the August recess and election season just around the corner, these agreements must be sent to Congress by July 29th.
Many of us around the nation refuse to sit back and let past failures be repeated in regard to the three pending free-trade agreements, wrote Mack in closing. We urge you to act today for the American people.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
