Trade

I pledge that I will put the working men and women of this district and country first. Established free trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA have failed our workers so far; they must be amended and renegotiated to bring in labor agreements that can help protect our workers. I promise to make it a priority to turn free trade into fair trade.

The world is getting smaller in this digital age; today we are truly part of a global economy. This requires us to think creatively and collaboratively on issues of trade.

We must be sure that while we take advantage of the many opportunities this new age offers, we are doing what is in the long-term best interests of our workers, citizens and country.

I support legislation that creates incentives for manufacturing the advanced products of new and future economies within the U.S. We should not give companies an advantage to go overseas by way of tax breaks or other means.

My opponent, Congressman English, in 2001 voted to give tax cuts to companies that outsourced, and later was opposed to studying the effects of such outsourcing on America's workers.

The result has been that many of our businesses have moved all or a part of their manufacturing operations overseas to take advantage of cheap labor and reduced costs. In return we are seeing more and more dangerous products coming into this nation, putting our people, including our children, at risk.

Congressman English also voted to protect employers who hire illegal immigrants, and supported an amendment to set maximum fines on such employers. This is unacceptable.

I advocate administering and enforcing strict fines on companies that hire illegal immigrants.