mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman for yielding , and along with millions of american workers in the afl-cio , i rise in very strong opposition to this flawed agreement . 
mr. speaker , here we go again . 
once more , the proponents of unfettered free trade are telling us about all of the good jobs that will be created if we pass this agreement and how great this agreement will be for the economy , and once again , they will be wrong . 
let me be as clear as i can be . 
our unfettered free trade policies , nafta , pntr with china , and the other trade deals have been a demonstrable and absolute disaster for the average american worker . 
it is incomprehensible to me that failure after failure after failure takes place , and then people come to the floor of the house and they say let us do it again . 
mr. speaker , in 2004 , we had a trade deficit of $ 617 billion , and by the end of this year , that trade deficit is expected to top $ 700 billion . 
industry after industry has been decimated in this country by unfettered free trade , and we have lost millions of good paying manufacturing jobs to china , to mexico and to other low-wage countries . 
in fact , after losing millions of good paying , blue collar jobs , we are now on the cusp of hemorrhaging millions more of white collar information technology jobs . 
when will you stop bringing these agreements forward ? 
when there are virtually no decent jobs left in america ? 
well , you are doing a good job in that effort . 
in the last 5 years alone , we have lost almost 3 million manufacturing jobs , more than 17 percent of all jobs in that sector . 
is trade the only reason that we are losing those jobs ? 
no . 
is it a major reason ? 
of course it is . 
why do we have these trade agreements ? 
the answer is obvious . 
corporate america comes in here and they say we do not want to pay working people a living wage , we do not want to respect environmental standards , we do not want to provide health care to our workers ; so give us the opportunity to move to china , to other low-wage countries ; please pass these trade agreements . 
congress says , yes , boss , that is what we are going to do , and this is , in fact , what has happened . 
today , at 14.3 million , we now have the fewest manufacturing jobs in this country since the 1950s , and these manufacturing jobs are the jobs that pay workers a living wage with good benefits . 
what is going on in our economy today and what is destroying the middle class is that we are losing good paying jobs in manufacturing and information technology , and we are replacing those jobs with low paying service industry jobs that provide low wages and minimal benefits . 
we have gone from a general motors economy , good wages , good benefits , producing real products , to a wal-mart economy of low wages , minimal benefits and vehement anti-unionism . 
let me say very clearly , that if we do not turn this trend around , including totally rethinking our trade policies , our kids , for the first time in the modern history of the united states of america , will have a lower standard of living than we do . 
mr. speaker , in america today , the middle class is shrinking , poverty is increasing , and the gap between the rich and the poor is growing wide . 
over the past 5 years , more than 5 million americans entered the poverty ranks . 
over 6 million americans have lost their health insurance . 
income for the average american fell by over $ 1 , 600 , and childhood poverty increased by over 12 percent . 
in 2003 , the last study done by the irs showed that 99 percent of americans had an income which did not keep pace with inflation . 
mr. speaker , we have got to stop the race to the bottom . 
we have got to reform and rethink our trade policies . 
let us vote this proposal down . 
