Many doubted that President Trump would succeed in his efforts to dismantle NAFTA and create a trade agreement that actually champions America’s workers, while honoring the strong bonds we share with our border neighbors. Yet President Trump will be in Wisconsin this Friday to make the case for an agreement that does just that: the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Meanwhile, instead of moving forward to ratify this agreement and help workers and farmers across Wisconsin and all of America, Democrats in Congress are all too happy to play politics, making no effort to ratify USMCA for the betterment of us all.
As we watch this scene unfold, I am stunned by the level of hypocrisy coming from elected officials who eagerly rushed Obamacare through with no real knowledge of the bill and little concern for the negative effects it would have on American families. As Nancy Pelosi so famously said, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”
Yet, today, when we actually know what is in USMCA and know how it will help Wisconsin’s workers and farmers, Pelosi and her caucus sit on their hands and push the bill to the bottom of the pile (to include Wisconsin’s Democratic U.S. House delegation of Gwen Moore, Ron Kind and Mark Pocan).
Congressman Kind, who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, is leading the way in the excuse-making, saying, “It seems like we’re stuck, and each side is waiting for the other to make a move here.” Congressman Kind: we elect representatives to solve problems and “unstick” solutions.
When the USMCA is ratified by all three countries (which Mexico has already done), for the first time ever, protections of agricultural biotechnology will be in place, dairy farmers will have new market opportunities, and Canada will finally terminate its discriminatory wheat grading system. This doesn’t even begin to account for the benefits to the beef, corn, and soybean industries.
In Wisconsin, nearly 25,000 jobs are supported by agricultural exports to other countries, with an annual value of $2.9 billion. But for some reason, those jobs are apparently of no concern to the Wisconsin Democrats serving in the House.
The irony here is hard to miss, as the Democrat Party has decided to hold their convention in Milwaukee in 2020 (in light of Hillary Clinton’s absurd decision to avoid Wisconsin during her failed 2016 campaign).
Conventions are swell, but Wisconsin Democrats may want to consider giving the people of our state – and the rest of America – more than just lip service. It is painfully obvious that this vote is only being delayed because the USMCA is a win for President Trump. But it is also a win for Wisconsinites and all Americans. Congressional Democrats need to put petty politics aside and ratify the USMCA. The clock is ticking.
Kevin Nicholson is the President of No Better Friend Corp. – a non-profit with a goal of putting a face on conservative policies – and a management consultant, based in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. He is a Marine Corps veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Kevin was a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin in 2018.