Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08) issued the following statement reacting to yesterday's introduction of legislation by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman David Camp to limit Congressional consideration of secret trade agreements negotiated by the Executive Branch:

"The Baucus-Camp 'fast-track' bill falls significantly short of promoting America's economic interests. It does nothing to strengthen U.S. manufacturing and this legislation will make it easier to outsource good-paying American jobs to low wage countries overseas. It does nothing to promote transparency in negotiating trade agreements, which are now negotiated totally in secret. And it continues the practice of excluding Congress from U.S. trade negotiations, a responsibility explicitly delegated to Congress by the United States Constitution.

Over the past few decades, American working families have been devastated by the negative consequences of bad trade deals. By moving forward with the same failed policies, we are missing an important opportunity to reinvigorate American trade policy in a truly bipartisan way. That is why I must oppose this bill."