"I'm pleased President Bush put forth his trade agenda to Congress today. Like the President, I also consider passing trade promotion authority a top priority this year. "The President is wise to start pitching Congress on the benefits to the American economy of free trade. It's vital to our continued economic growth. Our workers, farmers and service providers must be given equal opportunity with those from other nations to compete in the global environment.
"For too long, we've been deadlocked over the relationship between trade and labor and the environment. The President's agenda includes a lot of fresh ideas on how to address concerns about labor and the environment in trade agreements. I hope these ideas will help us break the log jam on those issues and move forward on trade promotion authority legislation this year."