Kevin Brady

Mr. BRADY

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson), an agriculture leader from the Mount Rushmore State.

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, yesterday, with impeachment, was a low mark in partisanship. Today, we have the opportunity to set a high mark in consensus and bipartisanship. Today is a momentous day. We will finally consider the implementing bill that brings the trade relationship between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico into the 21st century. This trade agreement is sorely needed. It has been over 25 years since we first established this trade relationship through NAFTA. So much has changed since then. For one thing, when we passed NAFTA, the phone booths by the Ways and Means hearing room actually had pay phones in them. A new 21st century trade agreement will be a force multiplier for America's already strong economy. Today marks the day 2 years ago that the House approved the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for the first time that has transformed America's economy. Today, President Trump and Ambassador Lighthizer have fought hard and delivered on their promise for a pro-growth and moderate trade pact. And because of their outstanding leadership and working closely with our congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle, we now have a trade agreement that will deliver historic wins for the economy, and that is because this trade agreement is all about growth. USMCA will set the stage for billions more in economic activity. It creates, for the first time, rules for competing in the digital economy, to the advantage of America's manufacturers and farmers across so many sectors. It pries open Canada's market for U.S. farmers and ranchers to sell American dairy, wheat, chickens, eggs, and turkey. It improves the competitive position of our manufacturers, our service companies, and our small businesses. It ends the race to the bottom created by what had been Mexico's poor labor laws. The agreement, best of all, is enforceable, allowing us to challenge violations and to stop countries from blocking these challenges, holding Mexico and Canada accountable for these new rules. More jobs. More American customers. America's innovators will get the tools they need to succeed here as we compete with countries like China. Independent experts predict this new agreement will spur over $68 billion in new economic activity. We are always looking to create more U.S. jobs, and this will create more than 176,000 jobs here in America, including 76,000 in our auto sector. That is good news for everyone. Best of all for the American people, USMCA is a truly bipartisan agreement. To Chairman Neal's credit and his remarkable hard work, House Democrats, including Chairman Blumenauer and my Texas colleague, Henry Cuellar and many others, worked in good faith with Ranking Member Buchanan and Ambassador Lighthizer to get on a path to ``yes.'' We are so glad to see so many Republican priorities were retained. In the agreement before us today, we have labor and environmental rules that are realistic, they are measurable, they are enforceable. What is not in this agreement are provisions for which there is no consensus, like the Paris climate accord. It is not a perfect agreement. No trade agreements are. We will continue to work to improve the areas that we think can be improved in future agreements, but in any event, American workers have a major victory in the USMCA, and I am proud to support it. It is a shame that the Speaker held it up for so long. It has been over a year since President Trump and our North American neighbors signed the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. It has been over half a year since Mexico ratified the initial agreement, and they have undertaken transformational labor reform. Due to Democrats' misguided obsession with impeachment, they neglected moving forward on this pro-worker and pro-growth trade agreement for far too long. Nonetheless, today I am so encouraged that we are here, finally moving forward on this new, strengthened North American Trade Agreement, because in the end, USMCA will not be a Republican win or a Democratic win, but a win for the American people, and a stronger, more prosperous alliance with our North American trading partners. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Baird).

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Schweikert), an outstanding technology leader on the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gosar).

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Hagedorn).

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller).

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. DesJarlais).

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Newhouse).

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), the outstanding Republican whip.

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Marchant), a leader on free trade from the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler).

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King), a champion of agriculture.

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), my friend, a leader of trade policy in the George H.W. Bush administration.

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga), a leader of ag and autos.

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Davidson), a manufacturing champion.

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson).

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway), who has been a longtime leader in agriculture, on the farm bill, and frankly, we couldn't have gotten this agreement done without him.

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Balderson).

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Kustoff), the State that helped win Texas' independence.

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Mitchell), a gentleman who was pro trade and pro USMCA the moment that he hit Congress.

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a series of statements in support of USMCA, including from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Information Technology Industry Council, the Business Roundtable, the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Farm Bureau, who join a host of business, agriculture, technology, manufacturing, and small business organizations across America that have been instrumental in getting USMCA across the finish line. U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Congressional & Public Affairs, Washington, DC, December 18, 2019. To the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly supports H.R. 5430, the ``United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Implementation Act,'' which would strengthen trade ties that support millions of American jobs. The Chamber will include votes on this bill in our annual How They Voted scorecard. The case for approval of this legislation is strong. First, it would strengthen U.S. trade ties with Canada and Mexico, which are by far our most important export markets. More than 12 million American jobs--in sectors from agriculture and manufacturing to services and technology--depend on trade with our two North American neighbors. They are also the top two export destinations for U.S. small and medium-size businesses, more than 120,000 of which sell their goods and services to Canada and Mexico. The new pact would guarantee that virtually all U.S. exports enter these markets tariff- free. Second, USMCA would modernize North American trade rules. When the North American Free Trade Agreement was negotiated a quarter of a century ago, there was no e-commerce, to give one example; consequently, the agreement did not address this sector. While USMCA falls short in several areas--including in intellectual property, which should not be considered a template for future agreements--its updated rules on digital trade, non-tariff barriers, services, and other areas promise substantial benefits. Third, USMCA would restore certainty to these vital trade relationships. Tariffs and the threat of tariffs--applied to steel and aluminum, autos and auto parts, or applied to pursue non-trade objectives--have imposed real costs on the U.S. economy and dampened investment. Enactment of this new trade agreement would turn the page on this chapter and afford the business community the confidence it needs to invest and hire. Implementation of USMCA would be a boon to U.S. companies and the workers they employ as they compete in our top two export markets. We urge the House to approve USMCA expeditiously. Sincerely, Suzanne P. Clark, President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood), an outstanding member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. BRADY

Mr. BRADY. Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith), the Republican leader of the Tax Policy Subcommittee, and I ask unanimous consent that he may control that time.