Sander Levin

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. I yield the gentlewoman an additional 15 seconds.

Mr. LEVIN. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the debate these last weeks and months has been about how do we get a strong and effective trade policy and trade agreement. That debate only intensifies now. Supporters of trade promotion authority, TPA, thought vague negotiating objectives and a passive role for Congress in the process were the way to go, in part because many on the majority side feel that more trade is essentially better, no matter its terms or conditions. The opponents of TPA wanted to ensure that TPP negotiations were on the right track, with no blank check to USTR, when there are so many outstanding areas where we are not satisfied with the status of negotiations or where we are uncertain of their outcome. Now we can focus like a laser beam on those issues. The argument about the process of TPA is now behind us and the challenge of the substance of TPP smack in front of us. Automatic embrace of centuries-old doctrines does not meet the challenges of intensifying globalization, so we will continue to shine a bright light on the critical issues, like market access, state-owned enterprises, intellectual property and access to medicines, worker rights, environment, currency manipulation, and investment provisions that could put at risk domestic regulations. Our calls for improvements to the negotiations will only grow louder. In order for TPP to gain the support of the American people, it will need to gain the votes of a much broader coalition of Members of Congress than voted for TPA. The issue is not protrade versus antitrade, but whether we shape trade agreements to spread the benefits broadly, including the middle class of Americans. Take, for example, the two trade bills before us today: the African Growth and Opportunity Act and our trade preferences programs. House Democrats have been key architects of these programs. For example, in the 1990s, our colleagues Charlie Rangel and Jim McDermott, working with Phil Crane, laid the foundation for the African Growth and Opportunity Act of 2000. These programs are designed to help shape trade, to ensure that its benefits are more broadly based. We can see that in AGOA, stronger labor and other eligibility criteria and the inclusion of textile and apparel products can give us additional leverage to help raise living standards. The same is doubly true with the Haiti program. While there is much work to be done in Haiti, one critical element of our program, inspections of factories by the independent group Better Work, is resulting in improved compliance with Haitian labor laws and better conditions for workers there. Finally, this bill includes a reauthorization of Trade Adjustment Assistance. I am an ardent supporter of TAA and introduced a bill earlier this year with Adam Smith to reauthorize it. I support H.R. 1295. To be sure, this TAA is not perfect. It falls short of the high water mark we established for the program in 2009. At a time when trade is expanding and is expected to expand even further with new trade agreements, we should be ensuring adequate funding for workers who lose their jobs as a result of trade and are transitioning to new jobs, not cutting the program. But we need to restore the program also for service workers and for trade with all countries, improvements that were wrongly allowed to lapse at the end of 2013, and we need to extend the entire program for the future. TPA, TPP, TAA, it might seem like a word scramble, but going forward, TPP, to the American people, will be about jobs and wages. They expect us to work hard to get it right as it is being negotiated, not simply leaving their elected officials with a ``yes'' or a ``no'' vote after TPP is done. We have a lot of work to do, and there is no ducking these issues now. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN. I now yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), who was an inspiration for AGOA and a major author. (Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), another distinguished member of our committee.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), another distinguished member of our committee.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), another distinguished member of our committee.

Mr. LEVIN. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, could I ask for the balance of our time?

Mr. LEVIN. I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. Mr. Speaker, the reason for the vote on TAA some days ago was because it was used as a bargaining chip to get votes for TPA. That is what the vote on TAA was all about. Secondly, I just want to observe, it is said don't judge TPP in opposition before you see it. The problem is so many people are judging in favor of it while it is still being negotiated and labeling it for a certain kind of an agreement while it is still being negotiated. So, for those who criticize those who are opposed before they see it, I would like to say to them, what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Don't embrace it so fully and so passionately before it is completed, and it is far from being completed. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly).

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison), who is so active on these issues.

Mr. LEVIN. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass), who has made the AGOA such an important part of her life here.

Mr. LEVIN. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar).

Mr. LEVIN. I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. LEVIN. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), our leader.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis), a member of our committee.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, as we proceed to vote, let me just reflect a bit as someone who has been working on trade issues for some time. At one point when USTR would not negotiate the trade agreement, Mr. Rangel and I actually did the negotiating of the Peru free trade agreement with the Peruvian Government. I don't suggest that should be the usual practice. As I look back on our debate on TPA, I think it has essentially been a prelude, a prelude to more vigorous debate about the contents of TPP. I think this debate has stirred the pot, and now it is important that this Congress--that this Congress--impact the ingredients in the pot and that we do so while the ingredients are being cooked and not simply afterwards, because these ingredients affect the lives of American businesses, American workers, and working families; and when we get it wrong, as sometimes has been true, people get hurt and millions of jobs are lost. So I think we now have to rededicate ourselves as these negotiations proceed to be an active partner and insist that we be an active partner, that we know what is going on, and that we are able to discuss with the public what is going on. I think that is where we are today. Within that spirit, Mr. Speaker, I urge that Democrats support this bill on TAA. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a good friend and a pioneer from my home state of Michigan, Jane Hart. Jane passed away on June 5, 2015. Some of us in Congress knew Jane through her husband, the late Senator Phil Hart, for whom the Hart Senate Office Building is named and who was known as the ``conscience of the Senate.'' I had the privilege of knowing her personally through common endeavors in Michigan. So while Jane Hart was her husband's partner in so many ways during his service to the people of Michigan, she was a leader and a trailblazer in her own right. She was a person with an unusual combination of a sense of responsibility for the common good, family loyalty and respect for individuality. Like so many women during World War II, Jane was committed to helping the American war effort. She was involved with the American Red Cross, helping to found their motor corps. She trained other women to drive the trucks built in Michigan factories to military bases around the country and to ports for transport overseas. Her involvement in this effort led to her interest in flying. During a time when there were very few women pilots, Jane earned licenses to fly single and multi- engine airplanes. She later became the first woman in the state of Michigan to earn a license to fly helicopters, and during her husband's first campaign for the Senate, she flew Phil to campaign events throughout the state. Her passion for flight led to an interest in the space program, and she, along with 12 others, were the first women to pass the physical and psychological tests required by NASA of astronaut candidates. NASA denied their entry into the astronaut program, and the Detroit News reported that she commented at the time, ``The men just could not get it and the country lost a great opportunity.'' While this group of women, who became known as the Mercury 13, never went to space themselves, their efforts and their advocacy helped to pave the way for Sally Ride to become the first American woman astronaut, and for all the women who have contributed so much to our space program since Ms. Ride's historic flight. As a pioneer for women in flight and in space, it was no surprise that Jane Hart was a powerful advocate for women's rights in general. In 1966, Jane was a founding board member of the National Organization for Women (NOW), where she chaired the new organization's Task Force on Legal and Political Rights, and she helped to establish NOW chapters in Michigan and in Washington, DC. For many years, she passionately advocated for an Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In recognition of her leadership, Jane was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 2007. Jane was also a well-known peace activist during the tumultuous period of the Vietnam War, which her son Michael told the Washington Post sometimes made things ``a little bit . . . complicated'' for her husband. But, as her son also noted to the Post, ``On occasion someone would demand of him, `Can't you control that wife of yours?' But the senator would respond, `Why would I?' '' While leading a life of adventure and advocacy, Jane Hart also raised her family with love and commitment. She and Phil Hart had nine children, eight grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. To them, and to all who knew her, Jane Hart was a vital force whose intelligence, energy and passion were inspirational. I encourage my colleagues to join me in remembering Jane Hart's remarkable contributions to our country and in extending condolences to the Hart family on her passing.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, today, I wish to commemorate the public service of Tom Parrott. Tom is retiring from the Social Security Administration after more than four decades of service to the millions of Americans who rely on Social Security. I serve as the Ranking Democrat on the Committee on Ways and Means, and over the years my colleagues and I and our staff have relied heavily on Tom's thoughtful and accurate advice as we crafted Social Security and Supplemental Security Income legislation. We and our constituents owe Tom our thanks for his careful stewardship of their contributions and the benefits they rely on to live. Tom's roots at Social Security are deep, as his father of the same name and his mother served at SSA before him. In fact, Tom says he can remember polishing the family car so his parents could go to the movies with Mr. and Mrs. Bob Ball. In January 1975, Tom began his service at Social Security as a claims representative in the Midtown Manhattan district office, before being assigned to the Rochester, New York and, subsequently, Redding, California district offices. In 1980, he was welcomed back to his home town of Baltimore as a policy analyst in the predecessor office of the current Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs. He then devoted himself for the last 35 years to working on federal legislation, providing impartial and knowledgeable counsel. He has been Acting Deputy Commissioner for Legislation and Congressional Affairs, and currently serves as Assistant Deputy Commissioner. Tom's commitment to public service runs deeply. Prior to coming to Social Security, Tom was a VISTA volunteer and later a field health inspector working for the State with migrant farm workers in the potato and apple growing regions of western New York. Tom is a 1972 graduate of Denison University, and completed the Federal Executive Institute's Leadership for a Democratic Society program in 2005. He became a member of the Senior Executive Service in 2008. As evidenced by his long and successful service in SSA's legislative affairs office, Tom has a keen eye for public policy, understanding the need to balance competing objectives in a politically and operationally workable fashion, and always with the Americans who rely on Social Security firmly in mind. We and our staffs have enjoyed working with Tom--one of his gifts is the ability to retain a calm demeanor and a sense of humor no matter what the situation. We have relied greatly on Tom's assistance and wise counsel over the years. We thank him for his service, and we wish him a well-earned retirement.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a proud son of Detroit, Michigan and a true icon in the law and in the civil rights movement, The Honorable Damon J. Keith. Judge Keith, a Senior Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, is the subject of a new film entitled ``Walk with Me: The Trials of Damon J. Keith.'' The world premiere of the film took place in Detroit on June 17, 2015. It is truly fitting that Judge Keith's story be told, and that his contributions to our country be more widely known. The grandson of slaves, Judge Keith was born on July 4, 1922, in Detroit. Judge Keith's father worked in a Ford factory, and pushed his son to be the first person in his family to attend college. Judge Keith lived up to his father's expectations, graduating from West Virginia State College in 1943. He was drafted into the Army during World War Two after graduating, and he served in a segregated unit in Europe. His experience in Europe as well as upon his return to the U.S. had a significant impact on him. As he told the Detroit Free Press in 2013, . . . ``after the war was over and I returned to the States, I could see white German soldiers riding in the front of the bus and going into restaurants in the States that said 'for whites only.' '' This spurred Judge Keith to pursue a legal career. Judge Keith attended the Howard University School of Law, where he was mentored by future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. He received his degree in 1949 and returned to Detroit, where he later earned a Master of Laws from Wayne State University. In 1964, he founded one of the first African American law firms in Detroit. That same year, Judge Keith was elected co-chair of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. The late Judge John Feikens served as the other co- chair and my brother Carl as general counsel where he observed firsthand Damon Keith's exceptional dedication to civil rights for all Americans. Just three years later, at the recommendation of U.S. Senator Phil Hart, President Lyndon Johnson nominated him for appointment to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. After serving as Chief Judge of the District Court, in 1977 President Jimmy Carter nominated him to the Sixth Circuit. He was confirmed, and he remains there today. His jurisprudence is notable for the number of landmark cases which came before him. Several of those cases had to do with issues of race and segregation, including Davis v. School District of the City of Pontiac in 1970, which was the first case in the North in which a federal court ordered integration, and Baker v. City of Detroit in 1979, in which he ordered the Detroit Police Department to carry out Mayor Coleman Young's plan to integrate the department. One of the other cases for which he is known is U.S. v. Sinclair in 1971, in which he ruled that President Richard Nixon and the Attorney General had no right to wiretap individuals in domestic security matters without a court order. The Sixth Circuit upheld Judge Keith's decision, as did the U.S. Supreme Court in U.S. v. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, which became known as the Keith case. And in 2002, Judge Keith wrote the Sixth Circuit opinion upholding a lower court decision in Detroit Free Press v. Ashcroft, which held that the Justice Department could not prevent the press and the public from witnessing deportation hearings of people suspected of having ties to terrorism. Recognizing his leadership despite a difference in judicial philosophy, in 1987 Chief Justice William Rehnquist named Judge Keith as National Chairman of the Judicial Conference Committee on the Bicentennial of the Constitution. In this role, Judge Keith led his colleagues throughout the country in efforts to promote the bicentennial of our nation's foundational document. In addition to his intelligence and his deep belief in the importance of equality for all people, Judge Keith is known for his respectful nature and his fundamental fairness. The director of ``Walk With Me,'' Jesse Nasser, recently told the Detroit Free Press, ``You're hard pressed to find anybody, whether he ruled for them or ruled against them, nobody will say a bad thing about him. Trust me, we tried. If we interviewed someone who was on the losing side of a case he ruled on, the first thing they'd say is, `Before we get started, let me go on the record saying Judge Keith is an incredibly fair judge and an incredible human being.' '' Just as the legendary Justice Thurgood Marshall mentored a young Damon Keith, so too has Judge Keith helped to guide many young people who, after having clerked for him, have gone on to achieve great things. Among those clerked for Judge Keith are Judge Eric L. Clay, who serves with Judge Keith on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals; former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm; Lani Guinier, the first African American woman to receive a tenured professorship at Harvard Law School; and Jocelyn Benson, the Dean of Wayne State University Law School, which is home to the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights and the Damon J. Keith Collection of African American Legal History. Mr. Speaker, perhaps the most quoted line of all of Judge Keith's decisions came from Detroit Free Press v. Ashcroft, in which he wrote that ``Democracy dies behind closed doors.'' Judge Keith has devoted his life to opening doors for all in society, and indeed in ensuring that all who serve in government are accountable to the principles upon which our nation was founded, and which have been enhanced and enriched over time. I encourage my colleagues to join me in thanking Judge Damon J. Keith for his truly excellent and inspirational service to our nation.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it is said that we should write the rules, not China. But make no mistake, the ``we'' is not Congress, leaving us with only a ``yes'' or ``no'' vote at the very end. To vote for TPA now is to surrender congressional leverage. To get it right in shaping TPP, the most significant trade negotiation in decades, Congress will have settled for a bill with so-called congressional negotiating objectives so vague they are essentially meaningless. That won't matter to those who basically approach trade with a 19th century dogma, that trade between any two nations will naturally be beneficial, simply matching the comparative economic advantages of each. But that has not worked out when, in this era, one nation manipulates its currency as it trades with the other, when nations suppress worker rights to keep their wages low, or degrade their environment to help them compete, or when nations heavily subsidize their markets or they keep their markets closed while their competitor keeps them very open in vital areas, whether industrial or agricultural. So let us write the rules, but Congress must be sure they are right. We must make sure that the beneficiaries are the many in our Nation, not just the few. As often stated in this debate, trade does, indeed, create winners and losers. As one who has worked hard to help put together expanded trade agreements, I know that in a globalizing world economy, failure to write the rules effectively is one of the reasons there have been too many losers. Millions of jobs lost, with middle class wages stagnant for decades, while the relative few have done so well. Congress should not give what would be essentially a blank check to USTR on key outstanding issues in the TPP negotiations. With this TPA, you are saying ``fine'' to no meaningful currency provision. You are saying ``fine'' to giving private investors in growing numbers the ability to choose an unregulated arbitration panel instead of a well- established judicial system in order to overturn local or national health or environmental regulations. With this TPA, you cannot be confident Vietnam and Mexico will adhere to meaningful labor standards. With this TPA, you can't be confident that Japan will open its market at long last to our cars or agricultural products. With this TPA, you can't be confident that there will be access to lifesaving medicines. Despite a bombardment of rhetoric, instead of the approach that we laid out in the substitute that we have not even been allowed to consider in the committee or in this House, the reality is that this TPA will not put Congress in the driver's seat, but the backseat, for TPP and for 6 years in important negotiations with Europe in TTIP and who knows what else. Congress has a responsibility to get trade negotiations on the right track, not the fast track. Vote ``no.'' I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra), the chairman of our caucus and a member of our committee.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.