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Trade Agreement Package Fails the House

I was proud to have worked closely with labor, consumer, senior, environmental and faith-based constituencies in working to reject this deal. We need fair trade agreements that benefit workers here and around the world, protect our planet, and promote access to affordable medicines and safe food. The ongoing TPP negotiation does not meet those tests.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky
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Proudly representing the 9th District of Illinois in the House of Representatives

Proudly representing the 9th District of Illinois in the House of Representatives
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WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 10: Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) (4th R) and fellow Democratic members of Congress hold a news conference with labor, envirnonmental and human rights leaders to voice their opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal at the U.S. Capitol June 10, 2015 in Washington, DC. The congressional Republican leadership announced that the House will vote Friday to approve the TPP and give President Barack Obama fast-track authority to negotiate a large-scale trade deal. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 10: Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) (4th R) and fellow Democratic members of Congress hold a news conference with labor, envirnonmental and human rights leaders to voice their opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal at the U.S. Capitol June 10, 2015 in Washington, DC. The congressional Republican leadership announced that the House will vote Friday to approve the TPP and give President Barack Obama fast-track authority to negotiate a large-scale trade deal. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Today the House voted to derail "fast-track" authority that not only would be used to push through a highly flawed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement but would prevent Congress from amending trade pacts for the next six years.

I was proud to join with my colleagues in voting no, and to have worked closely with labor, consumer, senior, environmental and faith-based constituencies in working to reject this deal. We need fair trade agreements that benefit workers here and around the world, protect our planet, and promote access to affordable medicines and safe food. We need fair trade agreements that allow U.S. workers -- the most productive in the world -- to compete on a fair playing field, and that end currency manipulation.

Today's vote demonstrates our belief that the ongoing TPP negotiation does not meet those tests. I hope that it will send a strong signal that the American public and Congress reject the TPP trade deal and want it renegotiated to meet the needs of the American public.

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