WASHINGTON, DC – Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-CA) led the Committee today in advancing the long-pending Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea to the House floor for their approval next week. The rule approved by the Committee also provides for consideration of the bipartisan Generalized System of Preferences/Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension (GSP/TAA) legislation already approved by the U.S. Senate.
“Job creation is priority number one and that is why moving these three trade agreements is so critical,” Dreier said. “They have been pending for far too long, and jobs have undoubtedly been lost due to the delay. But we are ready to move now and it is not a moment too soon. When American businesses and workers compete, they win. With passage of these agreements, we will be creating and supporting as many as 250,000 jobs and potentially adding $10 billion to our gross domestic product. We have a great deal of work to do to get our economy back on track. This should be just the start.”
The Rule reported out of the Rules Committee today provides 90 minutes of debate for each of the three trade agreements and 60 minutes for the GSP/TAA legislation.
For Immediate Release: October 6, 2011
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