... said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in support of the U.S. - Peru FTA, which passed the House by a wide margin. Other Democrats supporting the deal had the following to say:
"This is the first step toward a new trade agreement," said Rep. Sander M. Levin of Michigan, chairman of the House and Ways and Means subcommittee on trade.
...
"This was not Bush's Peru deal," Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles) said. "This is a different deal now. This is a deal that takes into account the insecurities of working men and women, not just in the U.S. but also in Peru."
Asked about the friction within the Democratic Party over the agreement, Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), who supported the measure, said, "Sometimes, our party can't take yes for an answer."
Citing the labor and environment standards, she explained, "This is what we have defined as fair trade for years. So I think we should be declaring victory."
Todd Tucker of Global Trade Watch (which did NOT support the agreement) live-blogged the House debate. Better him than me.
