Chairman Miller Statement on House Removal of Timetable on Colombia Trade Deal

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today on the decision to remove the 90-day timetable from consideration of the Colombia free trade agreement:

“Congress should not consider any more trade deals until we have acted to help workers who lose their jobs – through no fault of their own – because of trade, economic downturns, or other reasons. It is critical that we help unemployed workers gain the education and training they need for new jobs and, in the meantime, give them income and health benefits so that they can make ends meet until they get new jobs.

“It was wrong for the President to seek to force a vote on the Colombia agreement before we had a chance to address this basic issue of economic fairness for working Americans. Speaker Pelosi was exactly right to take the step she took today, which will enable the Congress to look out for the interests of America’s workers and their families.”

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