Pete Sessions

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, this debate today has been most interesting about the differences between the speakers who showed up today. One group of speakers is for America, for growth, for America leading, for America engaging the world, and for cutting deals with our friends against one other huge country that will overrun in every single economic circumstance the rest of the world because they do not respect intellectual property or rule of law. Mr. Speaker, this is about gathering together the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate to where we gather together the best rules and regulations that we can, parameters by which the President would go negotiate. This isn't about abdicating our role and responsibility. It is trade promotion authority. Mr. Speaker, please, we understand that some people haven't read the bill. We understand some people think this is about TPP or other agreements, but it is not. This is about a simple process: Are we going to exert our constitutional authority? Are we going to engage the President where the President can go engage the world on behalf of the American worker? Are we going to lead, or are we going to stick our head in the sand? Mr. Speaker, America needs to lead, and the world wants us to lead. Mr. Speaker, the world wants American products, and American business wants to sell to others without high prices and without tariffs. What we want to do is to compete. That is why we are here today. I urge adoption of this rule. I look forward to the debate that will follow, and I look forward to our young chairman, Paul Ryan, leading that effort, proving not only to the Members here today and to you, Mr. Speaker, but to the American people that we want more jobs. We have not created all the jobs that we need in this country. We need more, and this is a part of that effort. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the underlying bill. I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of all the Fathers of The Armed Forces who have served, or who have family members who have served. Let us remember their sacrifice, and give thanks to them and their families on this Father's Day. I submit this poem which was penned in their honor, by Albert Carey Caswell. For all the Fathers this Father's Day who go off to war for us we pray And for all the ones who aren't coming home, all because of what they gave That Last Full Measure, the greatest of all treasure's teaching us how men of honor behave Who take up our Nation's defense so very brave, who now lie all in such cold deep dark quiet graves. Whose sons and daughters will never see them again, all for the price of freedom they paid And for all the Fathers who went off to war, for The Greater Good who such heartache endure This Father's Day, our Nation gives thanks to you and your families so all the more And for all the families now separated across the shores. Whose children cannot be in your arms in yours. Remember my children how much your Father you adores And for all those Fathers who raised all of their fine daughters and sons. The ones who meant the most, who'll no longer get to see the morning's sun. And the chance to raise all of their own most precious daughters and sons. And for all those Fathers who sit for hours by a hospital bed, with all of their sons and daughters in pieces who died and bled Watching them in awe at what their courage has said As your tears run down your cheeks never seeming to ebb Inspired by watching them rebuild their lives coming out of such dread And yes for all of our Fathers this Father's Day, upon bended knee for all of you we now so pray. And remember to give thanks to all of them this day For all of those most precious gifts for us the price of freedom they paid And for all of their children in the coming years who stand on this day in tears. Because their Daddy isn't coming home as they've realize their darkest fears We pray our Lord give them the strength and courage, in what your Father's life so meant here on earth to your souls so nourish And to lead your life with the same kind of faith and courage, that made your Fathers' hearts so flourish. As we'll see your Fathers in all your faces. And when we hear your voices to them you will so take us And you will carry your Father's heart with you to all places. To help you to somehow all to so face this And we pray you will grow up to be strong and tall. Just like your Fathers one and all So one day too, you can teach your children all about your Father's most heroic hue All in such admiration, of what is brilliant. of what is true And hush my children please don't you cry, because one day up in Heaven you will look into your Father's eyes And you won't have to cry no more and ask why? This Father's Day please, please remember all of those Fathers who answered our Nation's battle cry America's greatest of all Fathers, who did not hesitate or ask why This Father's Day, God Bless them all with tear in eye.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the young chairman from Wisconsin for his hard work. Mr. Speaker, before we pass TPA today, the law is that the President of the United States can go negotiate whatever he wants without negotiation with the Congress and just go do it and come and plop it on our doorstep. I disagree with that, and that is why we are doing TPA, trade promotion authority, where the House of Representatives maintains its constitutional prerogatives and is empowering through TPA any President, whoever the President is, for the next 7 years to go negotiate in some 150 parameters as they negotiate. We maintain our sovereignty in this bill, including additions that we say the President cannot go negotiate--a new global warming trade bill, climate change, he cannot go negotiate anything new on immigration; it goes on and on and on--steel, and other things. We are giving the President our authority and expecting him to negotiate therein. This is a good deal for the American worker.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Genoa Township, Ohio (Mr. Tiberi). He is one of our three captains that has driven this entire thing in addition to Chairman Paul Ryan and myself. He has done an outstanding job.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to my very dear friend, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter), the ranking member of the Rules Committee, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. SESSIONS. When was that? What trade deal?

Mr. SESSIONS. Well, we gave you a good job, and you came to Congress. I think the gentleman makes a point that I would like to make, and that is we need a trade deal with Japan to level the playing field, and that is exactly what we are going to do.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Holding), who sits on the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Sunnyside, Washington (Mr. Newhouse), a farmer and a rancher and a freshman Member on the Rules Committee.

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

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I just love our friends who come up to the podium and talk about jobs; yet it is this administration and the Democrat policies that have taken American jobs, including ObamaCare, climate change, and all of the other rules and regulations--175,000 pages of rules and regulations--and have inhibited growth and job development in the United States. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Butler, Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly), one of the most exciting new, young Members of Congress.

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

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts just to ask one simple question: What was that trade deal that you were talking about?

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 305 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in defense of Ronald Reagan Republican free trade principles and in support of trade promotion authority, which is known as TPA. Since the days of President Ronald Reagan, Republicans have supported free trade because we know that when America competes, America wins. TPA is a vital piece of our free trade agenda because it creates the process that we need to secure trade agreements that grow our economy, create good-paying jobs, and lower prices for American consumers. For America to continue to determine the rules of the global economy, we need to lead by crafting free trade agreements, and thus, the House is here today to provide to the President the parameters under which he or she should negotiate a trade promotion authority. Free trade means more good-paying American jobs. Free trade means that American workers make American products at American businesses to be sold all across the globe. More than 38 million American jobs are tied to trade, and these jobs pay well. In fact, trade-related jobs, on average, pay 18 percent more than jobs that are not trade related. Mr. Speaker, the Republican Party is here today with Ronald Reagan watching from Heaven down on us, to say that we are continuing what he really began, and that is a process of American exceptionalism around the world. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman originally, I believe, is from Kentucky, and she will recognize when I tell this awesome story about how important a free trade agreement is. A couple of years ago, we did a free trade agreement with the country of Korea. Within a year, Mr. Speaker, as a result of that trade agreement, the number one selling car in Korea came from Georgetown, Kentucky. It is a Toyota Camry made in the United States. The Koreans love it, a Kentucky-made product. Mr. Speaker, if we didn't have a free trade agreement with Korea, the people in Georgetown, Kentucky, couldn't claim to be the number one car in Korea. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 2 minutes to the young gentleman from Auburn, Washington (Mr. Reichert), a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. SESSIONS. Two years ago?

Mr. SESSIONS. I thought you said you lost your job?

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, you know, I love the fervency of our colleagues who come down here and argue Japan is the problem. You can't talk about the trade agreement that we have with Korea where it works-- Japan, Japan, Japan. Well, good gosh, this is about getting a trade deal with what is called TPP, of which Japan would be included. This is a deal where my colleagues come down and don't like our trade deficits, but the bottom line is that the United States has a trade surplus with its 20 free trade partners. So we are trying to take people from nontrade agreement, where we run a deficit and they close their market, to a trade deal where we run a surplus where people want to buy American-made products. If they will listen, we have got a good deal for them today. And one of those good deals, Mr. Speaker, is agriculture, so that our men and women engaged in agriculture can sell their products around the world. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Midland, Texas (Mr. Conaway), the chairman of the Agriculture Committee.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Good gosh, Mr. Speaker, I was afraid she was in reference to ObamaCare, which is why we are losing American jobs all across this country. The bottom line is that, where there is trade with other countries and we have a trade deal, America wins, and we get more jobs. As an example, 3 million jobs in the Lone Star State of Texas are related to trade, and jobs are growing nearly twice as fast as nontrade jobs. This is what is happening. It is the vibrancy of America. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Harrison Township, Michigan (Mrs. Miller), chairman of the House Administration Committee.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany), a very savvy member of our trade team and a gentleman from the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I reserve the balance of my time to close.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I support TPA because it provides an unprecedented level of transparency. Let me be clear. A vote for TPA is a vote for jobs. It is a vote so that we can grow our economy. It is not a vote for a secret document. It is a vote to set up a process that ensures the American people understand exactly what any trade deal is before Congress votes on it. We will have 60 days to do that. TPA requires that the President make public the text of a complicated trade agreement for at least 60 days, and we are going to do just that. Over the last few months, I have worked with Chairman Paul Ryan and Chairman Pat Tiberi and other Members of Congress to strengthen TPA so that the President cannot hijack free trade agreements. I think it is obvious here: no one in this body really trusts the President of the United States to go and negotiate something that we would be in favor of. That is why we are making this trade TPA, so that we are following our agenda, one that we know that we have heard of. We have heard the concerns of the American people regarding immigration, climate change, currency, American sovereignty, and I think we have addressed all of these. My constituents are just like me. They want to know that we are going to support jobs. But we do not trust the President, and that is why we are doing this deal today. This grants no new authority to the President of the United States. Just the other day, I began working further after the Senate passed their TPA bill, and I worked with Congressman Steve King of Iowa to ensure that the trade agreements do not require changes to U.S. immigration laws or to obligate the United States to gain access or to extend access to visas. We had an excellent idea, also, that we took from Senator Ted Cruz from Texas. We just strengthened it and made it more straightforward, and it is in this deal that we do. This trade package also includes language that would prohibit the administration from attaching any climate change commitments to a trading agreement. We have also worked to guarantee that American sovereignty is upheld. TPA reflects what the Constitution requires, and that is that Congress maintain authority over any changes to U.S. law and our constitutional rights to approve any trade agreement. Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of this rule. I look forward to the debate that will follow. I urge my colleagues to listen to every single bit of this, and they will understand why a vote for TPA and this rule is the right thing to do.