Washington, DC – Ways and Means Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI) issued the following statement at today’s bipartisan, bicameral Trade Adjustment Assistance press conference:

“It’s not every day that we are able to reach a bipartisan and bicameral compromise, and I am so proud to have reached an agreement with Chairman Baucus, Chairman Rangel, and Senator Grassley on legislation to expand and improve the Trade Adjustment Assistance program,” Camp said.“This important package  provides a coherent, rational, accountable, and cost-effective system for training trade-affected workers and putting them back to work quickly and at better jobs.  The expansion to cover service workers adversely affected by trade is a particularly important part of this deal, as well as the expanded and more flexible training opportunities designed to help workers obtain the skills they need to start new careers.”

“While this assistance package is absolutely essential to helping those dislocated by trade, it is also critical to note the positive impact that trade has on our economy and working families.  The simple fact is that exports, and the millions of jobs that they support, have been the largest contributor to our economic growth.  Now that we’ve improved TAA, we need to move forward with our trade agenda to increase our exports and create more jobs here in the United States.”