05.21.15

Durbin Statement on Trade Vote in Senate

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the Senate voted 62-38 to advance Trade Promotion Authority legislation:

The debate over free trade agreements is an important one with compelling arguments on both sides. My first priority as a senator from Illinois, however, is keeping and growing jobs in our state, and too often these trade deals end up luring American jobs overseas. The truth is, we can and should expand trade, but we must also expand opportunity in America at the same time. The irony of this vote is that it formally ended debate on a bill that would limit the authority of the Senate to debate and amend these trade deals—we owe workers in Illinois and across the country a full, open, and honest debate over such critical legislation.