Marco Rubio

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be recognized to speak as in morning business.

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today for a moment to introduce an issue I have become interested in in the last few months, one that, quite frankly, I didn't know a lot about--the issue of human trafficking and slavery. For many Americans, for many of us in the 21st century, we think of slavery as a concept of the 18th and 19th centuries, something that happened in other places a long time ago, when, in fact, it exists today around the world. The issue is actually pretty startling. The State Department estimates that there are between 700,000 and 800,000 people in the world each year who are trafficked. The number of people trafficked in the United States is about 16,000 to 17,000. That is a lot of people in the 21st century who are being trafficked and are held in bondage. I saw a special on a cable network recently that outlined this issue. I then started researching it. I was shocked to learn that my home State of Florida is particularly affected by this issue. Recently, I had the honor and the privilege of being appointed to the Helsinki Commission, the group here in the Senate that works, along with the House of Representatives, as Commissioners on that Commission. We held a hearing yesterday on the issue of human trafficking, and it is an issue I am going to be increasingly speaking about over the next few weeks because I truly believe it is one of the great humanitarian causes of this new century. It begins with awareness, with a clear understanding of what is happening around the world with regard to this issue, the fact that there are these people. As we speak, as I stand here today, perhaps within walking distance of this very building there are people held against their will in servitude. The one that gets all the publicity--and rightfully so because it is so painful and outrageous--is sex trafficking, children and young girls and young women brought into this country and held against their will as sex slaves. It happens all over the world. It is sad to learn there are governments around the world that cooperate with this and tolerate it and are corrupted by it. That gets a lot of publicity and attention, and we are going to be paying a lot of attention to that. We heard stories of diplomats who work in this city, diplomats from other nations who come here and bring domestic workers with them to their homes and hold them here against their will and take their entire paycheck. We are going to be denouncing some of these people on the floor by name in the weeks and months to come. The other thing that is shocking--although I said the sex trafficking gets a lot of attention--is the forced-labor aspect of it. People are recruited in other countries, brought here, and they are told: We are going to bring you to the United States, and you are going to come here, you will make a living, make some money, and you can send some back home. When they get here, they are held against their will, and they are not paid. In fact, sometimes they owe traffickers money, and they are held in squalid conditions. That is happening here in this country underneath our very noses, not to mention the egregious cases around the world, and we are going to focus on those cases around the world as well. The State Department, by the way, ranks every country on the basis of how much they cooperate, on the progress they are making in prosecuting and investigating these issues. Those are available. A report came out recently. It identified the countries that are doing well, the countries that are trying to do well, and the countries that, frankly, couldn't care less and actually do not mind this stuff going on in their jurisdiction. They deserve to be condemned not just on this floor but in the international community, and we will talk about that as well in the weeks to come. I do not think we can point the finger at anyone unless we look at ourselves as a nation and society and call attention to this issue. So, as I begin to introduce this issue and my involvement in it, there are a couple of things I would like to point out from yesterday's hearing. The first is that this is largely occurring as a result of criminal enterprises. The same people who traffic drugs and are involved in all kinds of organized crime are also involved in human trafficking. We see that increasingly in major areas, and we have seen prosecutions, but we have also learned that increasingly what we are finding are small-scale operations, sometimes families. We heard the case of a mother and her two sons who were involved in a human trafficking ring. It is very profitable, very lucrative. It costs about $10,000 to bring a young woman into this country, and they can make that money back in the sex trade within a few days, and after that it is all profit. It is outrageous and has opened the door to small- scale operations that are doing this. What are the impediments to dealing with this? There are a few, and it will take a long time to work on. The first, unfortunately, is lack of recognition. I think that at the local level and even at the Federal level, our law enforcement officers and personnel who want to do the right thing probably need more information about identifying these cases, seeing the markers of human trafficking, identifying cases that clearly reek of human trafficking, and identifying those and treating them for what they are. The second thing we need is better protections for these victims. You know you are not going to be able to prosecute people and put them in jail unless the victims are willing to testify, and victims are not going to testify if they don't feel secure. If they believe you are going to deport them or put them in immigration jails or, worse, if they think these organized crime rings are going to harm their families overseas, it is going to be very hard to get victims to cooperate. Last but not least--and I know this is a complicated issue--our immigration system is contributing to this. We have a very complicated immigration system, and it is an expensive one, a burdensome one. What it is creating is the need for middlemen, and, guess what, more often than not, unfortunately, nowadays the middlemen, these foreign labor agencies--too many of them--are, in fact, human traffickers who are utilizing this system, the legal immigration system, to bring people into this country and, once they are here, to hold them against their will. We have to focus on that because ultimately that has to be solved. Our legal immigration system has to be modernized. If it is not, one of the problems we will continue to face is this issue of human trafficking. The good news is that here in Congress there is a bill-- reauthorization of the TVPRA. It passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee in October of this year by a 12-to-6 vote. It does a few things. It promotes increased cooperation among Federal agencies, between the United States and other countries. It supports and enhances the victim-centered approach, which basically says we are going to approach this from the viewpoint of the victim and create protections and security for the victims so they can cooperate and help us prosecute these people. The bill focuses on cutting off human trafficking at its roots by supporting international efforts to focus on this issue. There are a lot of countries out there that want to do the right thing; they either do not have the resources or knowledge base to do it. There are some countries out there that do not mind this. In fact, they cooperate with this stuff. They like that it is going on in their countries. They are on the take, so to speak. They need to be called out for what they are doing as well. Finally, it promotes accountability. It ensures that the Federal funds are being used for their intended purposes, and it reduces the authorization levels to address fiscal concerns but focuses on the programs that have been most effective. My hope is that bill, which is a bipartisan bill, will come to this floor soon and that we will have an opportunity to make it better, to get it passed, and to work with our colleagues in the House to send a very clear message that this is a priority, that this is something we should all agree on and work on together. It is a great cause to be involved in. It is one of the great humanitarian, human rights causes of the 21st century, and I think how we deal with it or fail to deal with it will say a lot about us as a people and as a nation. I hope I can encourage as many of my colleagues as possible to take up this cause as their own. I look forward, in the weeks to come, to coming to the floor and talking more about it. I yield the floor.

Mr. RUBIO. I also ask unanimous consent that the Senator from Rhode Island be recognized immediately after me.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Eitan Heering, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida. Eitan is a graduate of Weinbaum Yeshiva High School in Boca Raton, FL. Currently, he rising junior pursuing a major in government and politics at the University of Maryland. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Eitan for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Nicholas Corvino, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida. Nicholas is a rising senior pursuing a major in political science and a minor in history at the University of Central Florida. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Nicholas for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Maggie Martinez, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida. Maggie is a graduate of Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, FL. Currently, she is a rising senior double majoring in art history and English at Vanderbilt University. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Maggie for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Parker Mantell, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida. Parker is a rising sophomore pursuing a major in political science at Indiana University. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Parker for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Andrew Neal Juneau, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida. Andrew is a graduate of Auburn University, where he majored in public administration and minored in business. Currently, he is pursuing his master's degree in public administration at Auburn University. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Andrew for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Timothy Costa, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida. Timothy is a rising senior pursuing a major in philosophy and a minor in political science at Temple University. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Timothy for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Adrian Dominguez, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida. Adrian is a rising senior pursuing a major in business and economics with a minor in Spanish at Virginia Military Institute. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Adrian for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Ashley Wahl, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida. Ashley is a graduate of La Salle High School in Coconut Grove, FL. Currently, she is a rising junior pursuing a major in political science and a minor in psychology at Florida International University. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Ashley for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Caleb McCrea, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida. Caleb is a rising senior pursuing a major in political science at the University of Texas. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Caleb for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Brendan Flanagan, a summer law extern in my Washington, DC office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida. Brendan is a graduate of Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL, where he majored in political science. Currently, he is entering his second year at John Marshall Law School. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Brendan for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Andrew Green, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida. Andrew is a rising senior pursuing a major in political science at the University of Central Florida. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Andrew for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I strongly oppose S. 1660, the American Jobs Act of 2011. I am eager to work with Members of both parties to find common ground on policies that will help grow the economy at a time when our nation continues to struggle with high unemployment and low economic growth. To be clear, there are certain proposals in the American Jobs Act that I would support individually, including an extension of the payroll tax cut, allowing businesses to fully expense the cost of acquiring new capital, and a delay of the three percent withholding penalty on government contractors. These provisions would provide piecemeal relief to the economy. Unfortunately, the positive provisions in the American Jobs Act are overshadowed by a massive $453 billion tax hike that would be highly damaging to the ability of businesses that pay individual tax rates to expand operations, hire new workers and compete internationally. According to data from the Department of the Treasury, 80 percent of taxpayers affected by this new 5.6 percent tax increase would be business owners. Furthermore, the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that 34 percent of business income would be ensnared by the job- destroying tax increase in S. 1660. Worse, if the 2001 tax relief expires as scheduled in 2013, this new tax surcharge would push the top marginal tax rate to nearly 50 percent when accounting for the new 3.8 percent Medicare tax on unearned income in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It would also sharply increase taxes on capital gains and dividends investment, hurting small businesses and investors. Small businesses have been burdened by more than $1 trillion new taxes and penalties in the health care law and regulatory agencies have churned out over 60,000 pages of new Federal regulations this calendar year alone. Simply put, they cannot afford the burden of another tax hike from Washington under the guise of job creation. This is why the Nation's leading business groups representing millions of American business owners, including the National Federation of Independent Business and the National Association of Manufacturers, all strongly oppose the permanent tax hike in S. 1660. This is why a growing group of Democrats vocally oppose this legislation, and why I oppose proceeding to it. Since I joined the Senate 9 months ago, I have maintained my strong belief that Democrats and Republicans should work together to pass policies proven to boost economic growth like progrowth tax and regulatory reform, lowering barriers to free trade, and cutting spending to avert our looming debt crisis. Unfortunately, the huge tax increases on job creators and more debt-financed stimulus spending in the American Jobs Act would move our Nation in squarely the wrong direction.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Viviano Bovo, a member of my staff, be granted the privilege of the floor during today's session.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Madam President, I stand here to talk about the case of an abuse of another kind than we are currently speaking of with regard to China and its currency manipulation. Youcef Nadarkhani was arrested in October of 2009 in Iran. I will read the charges against him, pursuant to a document signed by two judges, and I will say their names because I think one day they will be held accountable: Morteza Fazel and Azizoallah Razaghi. I think I got the pronunciation right. Here is what the document says, as reflected in a news article: ``Mr. Youcef Nadarkhani, son of Byrom, 32 years old, married, born in Rasht in the state of Gilan, is convicted of turning his back on Islam, the greatest religion the prophesy of Mohammad at the age of 19,'' the document states. The article goes on to say: He has often participated in Christian worship and organized home church services, evangelizing and has been baptized and baptized others, converting Muslims to Christianity. He has been accused of breaking Islamic Law that from puberty . . . until the age of 19 the year 1996, he was raised a Muslim in a Muslim home. During court trials, he denied the prophecy of Mohammad and the authority of Islam. He has stated that he is a Christian and no longer Muslim. During many sessions in court with the presence of his attorney and a judge, he has been sentenced to execution by hanging. He was sentenced to hanging for this alleged crime, and that is what he has been convicted for. That conviction was upheld by an appeals court in Gilan in September 2010. In July, the Supreme Court of Iran overturned the death sentence. Again, this is according to media reports. They did not overturn the conviction, just the death sentence, and sent the case back to his hometown of Rasht. Here is what has happened since it has gone back to his hometown. The deputy governor of that province says, while he is guilty of apostasy, that is not why he was sentenced to death. They have come up with some new charges. They say he is a security threat--in particular he is an extortionist and, they claim, he is a rapist. By the way, they had never said this before until the case came back to them. By the way, he is also a Zionist, which in and of itself, according to them, is punishable by death in Iran. That is where the case stands today. There have been reports time and again about what has been happening in Iran with this case. His lawyers have now been publicly saying they expect to know by Saturday whether their client will be executed in Iran, quite frankly for the crime of not just being a Christian but of converting others to Christianity. Obviously, this is an outrage. I am glad to see that the voices from this government and from all over the world have expressed themselves against it. But I think it is important for us to express ourselves against it for another reason. This is a time when Americans in this Nation have increasingly been asked to turn to international bodies to resolve disputes. Let's visit that for a moment because we have international bodies and we have international conventions that Iran has signed--particularly two. One is the Declaration of Human Rights. They signed it in 1948. The other is the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights. They signed that in 1966. Any nation that signed on to these covenants--any action like this in the courts of your country are unconscionable, illegal. They violate these agreements. I hope we will see some action on the part of the United Nations and nations such as Russia and China, for example. Of course it would be difficult for China to speak out against oppressing religious minorities when they do that quite often in that country as well. But that being said, we are interested in seeing where some of these countries will be on this matter. We are obviously very encouraged that the European Union has spoken about this matter. We would like to see some of these other countries step up. We would like to see the United Nations take a break from figuring ways to sanction and take on Israel and maybe focus a little bit on these sorts of things, where people are facing a hangman's noose because of their religion. By the way, in Iran this sort of thing is not just happening to Christians. Not only Christians feel oppressed, but non-Shiite Muslims experience great oppression. But here is the greater point. Beyond this outrage, let me say I encourage everyone to pray tonight for the safety of Youcef Nadarkhani and his family. We hope this will resolve itself. We hope, in that nation and in that Government of Iran, there are reasonable people who realize what an outrage, what an atrocity, what a human rights violation, what a crime it would be for this man not just to be sentenced to death but even to be in jail. We should be sorry for the people in Iran. It is hard to believe that the vast majority of people in that country agree with us. In fact, they look at their government and say: You are isolating us from the world. If the people of Iran want to know what it is that is isolating them from progress in this 21st century, they need to look no further than Tehran and the people running that government. It is sad because I think, going back to 2009, the evidence is there that especially young people in that country just want to have normal lives and live in a normal country. Instead, their country is being run by individuals who think this sort of thing is OK. By the way, I also point out to leaders in places such as Venezuela and other nations of Latin America who so warmly welcome leaders from Iran when they visit that this is whom you are doing business with. I encourage those people in Latin America to turn to their leaders and ask them: Why do we have a relationship with people like this? Why are people like this being invited to come into our countries and do business with us and tour our streets as heroes? This is who they are. Forget the rhetoric, put everything aside, if you want to know what the leadership and Government of Iran is about, it is about this. This is who they are. I can think of no other case before us today with regard to Iran that more clearly outlines the monsters we are dealing with within that government than this case I have outlined. I believe there is a broader conversation to be had about what Iran means. There is a lot going on in the world, but what is happening in Iran is important, and Iran's neighbors know it. Whether they will admit it publicly, Iran's neighbors know what a danger that government and its vision for the region and the world poses. But I think this case is one we should all speak out about. The eyes of the world should be turned to this case. It is an absolute outrage, and there is no way in the world we should stand by and allow anyone to be silenced or anyone to be silent, particularly our allies around the world and other countries and members of the so-called international community. It is time to step to the plate and condemn these acts because Youcef Nadarkhani should not--not only should he not be facing a death sentence, he should not even be in jail. I yield the floor.

Mr. RUBIO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record an article highlighting the Castro regime's continued abuse of the Cuban people as they organize efforts to create a freer Cuba. The people being held unjustly and abused in Cuban prisons--as well as those being intimidated and repressed outside of prison--need the continued support of America.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, we have had this important conversation this week about trade policy in the United States, and it is an important one. Clearly, one of the great things that will help us grow our economy in the years to come is further free trade. As we have these pending free-trade agreements--and most everyone around here I have run into says they are in favor of, including the President, the one with South Korea, the one with Panama, the one with Colombia--there has been a prerequisite put in place by those in charge in the Chamber, and that is we deal with the TAA issues. That is why we are on the issue today, which clearly has been linked, free-trade agreement and the TAA law. I wish to talk a little bit about the free-trade agreements because we are continuing to wait for them to be sent down to us. These agreements would increase U.S. exports by billions of dollars and create jobs here in the United States. For example, there are exports of about $12 billion annually, adding about $14 billion to the U.S. economy. These are real numbers. The South Korea agreement alone, for example, is estimated to add as many as 70,000 American jobs. These benefits are not realized because the President has not submitted these for approval to this body or to the Congress. The debate we are having is not a new one. The trade adjustment assistance, or TAA, has been a policy of the United States, for better or worse, since the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Interestingly, this policy was first proposed by Senator John F. Kennedy when he aptly titled it the Trade Adjustment Act. The initial goal was to respond to perceived effects of trade policy. In essence, you enter into a trade policy, such as a free-trade agreement with another country, and American workers may lose their job in the short term, but you create a fund to help them transition to what you hope will be the new jobs created by the free-trade agreement. As you create this new relationship with new countries and new economies, the effect of it is while some jobs may be lost, those jobs are replaced with new opportunities and new jobs. In the process of that transition, between the job you once had and the job you hope to have in the future as a product of free trade, you create this fund to help workers adjust from point A to point B. That is the purpose of it. That is why it has been included in things such as the Trade Act of 1974. It was ushered in with the North American Free Trade Agreement under President Clinton. It was also included in the Trade Act of 2002, the last authorization of the trade promotion authority so vital to promoting the free-trade policies in the United States. From its inception, TAA has been linked to free trade. Basically the understanding is when you enter into free-trade agreements with another country, there are short-term disruptions and you need a fund available to help workers transition during the disruption. Very simply put, you have a job, maybe it goes overseas in the free-trade agreement, but a new job is created in America as a result of that agreement and we are going to help you transition through this fund. That was the purpose of it until 2009 when under the stimulus bill that has been changed and has been vastly expanded. Now in order to qualify for it, all you need to prove is that somehow your job or the company you work for has moved operations potentially overseas. That is a big problem in America. It is a big problem in Florida. If you talk to people, they will tell you, we are losing our jobs. Other countries are taking our jobs. Jobs are going overseas. There are a lot of reasons for that. The first is unfair trade practices. This body should address that, beginning with China and other nations that unfairly deal with the United States, whether it is manipulation of their currency, whether it is dumping, among other things they do that are unfair, not to mention some of these nations have no environmental regulations, no protections for their workers or wages. There are incredible amounts of headwinds we face with regard to that. That should be dealt with. It should be dealt with seriously through public policy, and it is something we should look at. That is not a temporary issue. That is permanent. That is ingrained and entrenched. Unless we deal with the issues involved in that and those unfair trade practices, no temporary measure like TAA is going to help us deal with that. We have to deal with that on a permanent basis. That was not the purpose of the TAA. The second thing we need to deal with is some of the impediments we are creating ourselves. That is why I am encouraged when I hear bipartisan talk of tax reform, things that will make it easier for people to build in the United States and open businesses here. Also, regulatory reform. Let there be no doubt that while there are significant currency manipulation problems and significant trade impediments in terms of unfair trade practices by other countries, some of the wounds are self-inflicted through a regulatory and a Tax Code that makes it difficult for people to do things and do business in the United States. Again, I am encouraged when I hear bipartisan talk about regulatory reform and tax reform. These are the kinds of things that can deal permanently with a permanent and entrenched problem. That is not the purpose of TAA. Today we stand here considering this as a gateway issue because we have been told we have to pass this bill before we can get to the free-trade agreements, and so clearly it links the two. If we are going to link the two, we have to make it very clear that this sort of existence was created for the define purpose and the specific purpose of helping people to transition because of a disruption created in their job status as a result of a free-trade agreement. This is a pretty simple amendment. It says this assistance is only available to those workers who lose their jobs to a country we have a free-trade agreement with because this is designed to deal with the unintended consequences and the temporary disruptions that might be created by a free-trade agreement with another country. So that is what the amendment does, and I am hoping to have the support of as many of my colleagues as possible in putting this program back into its historical purpose. I yield the floor.

Mr. RUBIO. Madam President, I will be brief. The amendment is simple and straightforward. It just returns the TAA Program back to its original intent. It was designed to help workers who were displaced from their jobs or lost their jobs as a result of trade practices, primarily as a result of free-trade agreements between the United States and other countries. It is one of the reasons why, I believe, the majority has brought this issue before us before proceeding to the free-trade agreements with South Korea, with Panama, and with Colombia. What this does is it returns it back to that. It clearly recognizes there are workers who have been hurt by unfair trade practices unrelated to trade agreements, whether it is what China does or other nations do, and those things need to be dealt with, but they need to be dealt with separately. This program was originally designed to help workers who were harmed in the short term. That is why it is called adjustment. These are workers who are trying to adjust as a result of some disruptions that may have occurred as a result of a trade agreement. I think what we can take solace in knowing is that the best thing you can do for a worker who has lost his job is to get him a job. Ultimately, that is what free-trade agreements do. They create jobs in America, as the White House has recognized. My hope is that we will proceed quickly to the passage of the three free-trade agreements, and again I urge the White House to submit those and that this body take them up as soon as possible. I yield the floor.

Mr. RUBIO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I call up Rubio amendment No. 651 and ask for its consideration.

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President.