Washington, DC – Today, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) issued the following statements in reaction to the announcement that 12 Republican Senators have sent a letter to President Obama indicating that they will act on a standalone Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) compromise negotiated and agreed upon by the House, Senate and Administration and pressing the President to immediately submit the three trade agreements to Congress.
 
Chairman Camp :  “I applaud the action by my Republican colleagues in the Senate who have shown a path forward on TAA that should clear the way for the Administration to send the three job-creating free trade agreements to Congress.  I have said it before and I will say it again that if the Administration formally sends up the agreements to Congress without TAA, I will formally mark up those agreements and TAA on the same day.  I urge the Administration to move quickly and send these agreements because one thing is perfectly clear: we are already losing ground to our foreign competitors.  Reports show that EU exports to South Korea are already up nearly 20 percent in the handful of weeks since that agreement entered into force.  Those are contracts and relationships our workers and employers should have had a shot at.  Washington must act and act now; we cannot afford to let these trade agreements languish any longer.”

Trade Subcommittee Chairman Brady : “We have to ask the question – why are we waiting?  If the President is serious about spurring job growth and jump starting our economy, it’s evident that we have the votes in both the House and Senate.  There is a clear path forward on trade if only the President would send these agreements to Congress.”