As home to the East Coast’s second largest port, the economy of the Hampton Roads region benefits directly from international trade. Boosting free trade allows for job growth surrounding the Port of Virginia and will make the Hampton Roads community a leader in the increasingly competitive global marketplace for generations to come.
Since I have been in Congress, there have been great strides in opening up trade. I have been proud to vote in favor of the United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement, Dominican Republic-Central American-United States Free Trade Agreement, and the United States-Oman Free Trade Agreement.
As you may know, once the President submits a trade agreement together with the implementing legislation to Congress, any committees to which it is referred have 45 days to consider it, and the House of Representatives and Senate have 15 more days to vote the legislation up or down without amendment to the agreement itself. This was the case with each of the trade agreements listed above. However, I was surprised when the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, used a procedural maneuver to block debate of the Columbia Free Trade Agreement. Despite her personal views on free trade, this issue is of such importance that at the very least it deserves a fair and open debate.
I fully support free trade. Not only does it directly affect the Second District of Virginia, but it also helps our national economy and creates high wage jobs, which empower American families. Free trade will contribute to the economic growth and trade between countries, generate export opportunities for U.S. companies, farmers, and ranchers, help create jobs in both countries, and help American consumers save money while offering them greater choices of goods and services.
