M. President, the vote today represents a trade vote littered with broken promises. We’re asked to relinquish our congressional responsibilities and trust that trade agreements in the future will help our country. 

Yet, the last several decades have shown that trade has done much more harm than good.

So far, I have voted against every unfair trade bill, and I will continue to vote against unfair trade deals until there is a commitment to protecting American workers and those living on Main Street, not just those on Wall Street.

These trade deals have crippled our manufacturing sector and left thousands of hard-working West Virginians without jobs.

I am totally opposed to agreements that trade good American jobs for no jobs, and I have yet to see a free trade bill that is a fair trade bill.

History has already shown us nothing but broken promises when it comes to trade.  It has shown us that trade deals lead directly to lost jobs and economic inequality. 

In the early 90s, we were told how great NAFTA be would be for the American worker.

However, since NAFTA went into effect, we have lost over 6 million manufacturing jobs in the U.S.

In West Virginia alone, almost 30,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs have been lost on account of NAFTA.

All I keep hearing is that trade will benefit American workers. Well, we know the definition of insanity in West Virginia, and it’s insane to keep passing trade bills when we don’t see any benefits.

I know that Wall Street and corporate CEOs benefit from these trade deals, but I have yet to hear from one hard-working West Virginian who says that trade has made his or her life better.

Since 1994, the income of the top 1 percent has skyrocketed while the income of the millions of middle class workers has remained stagnant.

I will not stand by and let these trade agreements empower corporate America and Wall Street while suppressing America’s 99 percent and Main Street.

I will not stand by and allow thousands of more jobs to be lost without first having a voice in the matter.

I’m not going to simply trust proponents of trade when they’ve broken their promise to the American worker, time and time again.

Promises were broken then and promises are being broken now. 

Earlier this month, my colleagues on both sides of the aisle were asked to trust Republican leadership that the Export-Import Bank, an extremely successful institution that has supported thousands of small businesses and their employees, would receive a reauthorization vote before its charter expired. 

Yet, here we stand, days until expiration, with no vote on the horizon.  Yet another broken promise that Ex-Im’s Bank’s supporters would be wise to learn from.

And now, we have another promise.  Here we are again, led to believe that this trade deal is going to benefit the American worker, when the American worker isn’t even allowed to see what’s in it.

What’s more, those who support trade concede that trade will cost American jobs. That’s why we are also having a vote on Trade Adjustment Assistance, or TAA.

I fully support Trade Adjustment Assistance, which provides job opportunities and training, job search assistance, relocation allowances, income support, and support for healthcare premium costs.

But the whole reason we need TAA in the first place is because trade will cost American jobs – there’s no dispute there. 

In West Virginia, we’ve learned, through Trade Adjustment Assistance programs, tens of thousands of workers have been certified as having lost their jobs due to imports or offshoring.

According to the Department of Labor, since 1974, millions of workers across the country have been certified as having lost their jobs to trade.

Yet, instead of putting TAA into the trade bill, we are only promised a vote once TPA passes.

Despite all the broken promises and the uncertainty in both chambers, we are still supposed to trust the Senate and House leadership that once they get their fast-track bill through, only then will we take care of the American worker who is going to lose his or her job due to this trade deal. 

I will not stand by and let the President and Leadership ask us to fast-track their agenda when millions of hard-working American jobs are on the line.

The bottom line is that the time for broken promises us over.  I will continue to fight for American job protection when it comes to trade policy with other countries and will push for solutions that will help create and keep good-paying jobs across our state and our nation.

I urge my colleagues to vote no on TPA.