Congressman Marsha Blackburn Supports Jobs for Tennesseans

Washington, D.C. – Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) voted for H.R. 1890, the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015.

This legislation sets roughly 150 trade objectives that the President and the United States Trade Representative must pursue during trade negotiations, including: the reduction of trade barriers, enhanced United States competitiveness, and small business access to international markets. TPA directs the President to address trade barriers and works to make sure American products have as much access to world markets that foreign products have in American markets.

“Frankly, I support free trade because free trade makes Tennessee’s economy more vibrant. Free trade keeps our neighbors employed and puts food on the family table. Trade-related jobs in our state grew 6.4 times faster than total employment from 2004 to 2013. We all like to talk about our state being above average and leading the way in having employment growth and economic growth and health for our citizens.  Over the past two decades, trade has been an active contributor to our positive stats,” Blackburn said.

Trade accounts for 11.1% of Tennessee’s annual GDP and supports more than 829,000 jobs.

“Many worry that the trade agreements are being negotiated in secret and that TPA will provide a ‘fast track’ for the President to saddle America with a bad deal. TPA is not about granting power, it is about establishing transparency and oversight. In fact, TPA will give America more time to review any trade agreement the President negotiates. For 60 days after the negotiations are complete, every single American will have access to the text for review. In actuality, TPA creates a ‘slow track,’ so we can pour over every detail of the document and decide if this is what is best for our nation, both today and in the future,” Blackburn said.