Senate Proceeding on Apr 23rd, 2009 :: 4:20:50 to 4:27:00
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4:20:47 to 4:21:07( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: quorum call: a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from o mr. brown: thank you, madam president. i ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: we're in a quorum call. mr. brown: thank you, madam president. i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call and then unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business. objection. mr. brown: thank you, madam president. i've heard lots of discussion in

4:20:50 to 4:27:00( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Sherrod Brown

4:21:08 to 4:21:28( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: the newspapers in the last 48 hours or so that -- that there is a to continue to bring legislation to the house and to continue bush trade policy. there has been -- there have been statements by -- by some in

4:21:29 to 4:21:52( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: both parties that we might consider trade agreement, the so-called free trade agreement with panama, with colombia and the free trade agreement with south korea. i -- i think that's really a mistake. when you look at -- when you look at what's happened in states like ohio and particularly in a state like the

4:21:53 to 4:22:13( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: presiding officer buffalo and rochester and syracuse and the update -- the upstate cities in her state, and you can see the kind of incredible job loss. not just from this most recent recession since october but look at the job loss in manufacturing that we've seen through the entire bush years while we've -- while this government's moved forward on

4:22:14 to 4:22:36( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: bush trade policies. we will look at the original north american free trade agreement negotiated by the first president bush. unfortunately the touches put on by president clinton. and then the central american free trade agreement passed by the house and senate in the mid part of this decade

4:22:37 to 4:22:57( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: and now considering, again, trade agreements negotiated by bush trade negotiators with panama, colombia and south korea. unfortunately, what we've seen is -- is a huge spike -- more than a spike, because it's more long-term and fundamental than that -- we've seen this huge growth in our trade deficit.

4:22:58 to 4:23:18( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: we have today a trade deficit of $2 billion just for today. and $2 billion for saturday $2 billion on sunday. every day, $2 billion trade deficit. what does that mean? george bush the first said a $1 billion surplus or deficit translates into some 13,000 jobs jobs.

4:23:19 to 4:23:40( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: so a trade deficit of $2 trillion -- $2 billion translates, according to president bush the first, i 26,000 lost jobs, $a 2illion ade surplus would be gains jobs. a country we haven't seen a trade surplus since 1973. so what that says is this trade policy leads to persistentrade deficits.

4:23:41 to 4:24:02( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: this trade policy leads to persiste trade policy leads to families who are hurt, communities which are destroyed. i can take you to lotsf places in my state and you can l wreaked by u.s. trade policy. that -- i don't blame

4:24:03 to 4:24:23( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: manufacturing's decline, all of trade policy to be sure. but there's no qstion when you have a $2 billion-a-day loss -- deficit, over the course of a year, a $700 billion or $00 billion trade deficit for the year, you know that's a problem. so my point, not to debate trade poly today.

4:24:24 to 4:24:44( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: it's onl administration and to my friends on both sides of the aisle and to the -- the -- the crowd at the end of the hall here in the house of representatives that we trade agreements until we really look at what our trade policy does. i can point not loss, i can also point to what happened with -- as an outgrowth of the permanent normal trade

4:24:45 to 4:25:06( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: relations with china. our trade pol i believe seven people in toledo, ohio, and dozens around the country died from the blood -- from taking the blood pressure thinner hel ingredients of which came from china and those ingredients were contaminated. or you can look at toys.

4:25:07 to 4:25:29( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: an experiment assignment by professor jeffrey weitenhamer at ashland yeurveghts not far from where i grew up, i sent out first-year condemn tchemistry students to stores to buy toys at christmas and easter and found which is to come i can for

4:25:30 to 4:25:51( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: children, on many of these coming from china. and again hiring subcontractors in china. so we're not just imorgt goods, gooshesdz we're also importing lead-based paint, we're also importing contaminated ingredients in heperin, contaminated ingredients in dog food and vitamins and other thing. so my point, madam president, is

4:25:52 to 4:26:13( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: let's do a dispassionate, known ideological, nonpartisan study, before we do more trade agreements, let's do a nonpartisan, nonideological, unbiased study of how inact aa-- nafta's worked how cafta's worked, how our relations with china on p.n.t. and foreign currency has all worked.

4:26:14 to 4:26:34( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: in these times, first of all on health care, on on housing, and particularly on the banking system we've got plenty to do. we've got plenty to do but that's not even the point. the point is before we do more trade agreements, let's look at how they've worked. let's look at what's happened rather tha-- especially rather than following the bush trade agenda, which we know simply hasn't stherved country hasn't served this country well.

4:26:35 to 4:26:51( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: i yield the i thank the president. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the