trade policies could be a boon to tens of thousands of American small businesses, not to mention consumers. That is why I support trade promotional authority for the president. And itâs why I support continued efforts to pursue regional and bilateral trade agreementsâsuch as the Trans-Pacific Partnership with developed economies in Asia and Latin America, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with Europe.
The need for trade to find new markets for American products reminds us why foreign policy is still important, even at a time when we are rightly focused on the struggles of the middle class here at home. The United States has to be engaged in the world in order to sell its goods and services to the world. We canât afford to lose markets because a country is afraid of what its more powerful neighbor will do if they trade with us.
This is exactly what happened in Ukraine. They sought closer economic and political relations with the West, and Russian strongman Vladimir Putin made them pay a price for itâand was allowed to do so by the United States and other free-market powers. In the twenty-first century we have to be able to sell our products and services to any market in the world. By failing to force Putin to pay a price for his naked aggression in Ukraine, we have set an example for other countries with hegemonic aspirations. We are telling not just Russia but China, Iran, North Korea and other countries that itâs okay to intimidate their neighbors if they seek trade and economic relations with us. They now look at Ukraine and they see a cautionary tale that directly affects our economy: If we grow closer to the United States and the West, this is what will happen to us.
Last but certainly not least, winning the global competition for investment and innovation will require us to win the global competition for talent. We simply cannot remain competitive in the twenty-first century if we are unable to attract and keep the most talented people in the world.
For as long as there has been an America, we have benefited from the infusion of entrepreneurs, innovators, workers and dreamers who have come to this country from other lands. But today, at a time when so many working-class and middle-class families are struggling, it can fairly be asked: Is it possible to advocate continued immigration while at the same time fighting for an agenda to lift up the working and middle classes? Arenât these two things at odds with each other? Well, the answer is yesâif we continue on the path weâre on.
To begin with, our immigration system itself is chaotic. Entire sectors of our southern border are not secure, creating not just an immigration problem but a serious humanitarian and national security one as well. Last summerâs crisis of thousands of unaccompanied minors entering this country proves that both our borders and our immigration system can be overwhelmed very quickly. In addition, many of our immigration laws are simply not enforced or unenforceable. For example, a significant percentage of those here illegally arrived legally, but then overstayed visas. We do not know who most of them are or where they are.
Our immigration system, designed primarily to reunite families, is an outdated relic of the last century. This system worked for much of the twentieth century, when we had no shortage of low-skill, middle-income jobs and the government safety net was still fairly limited. But today we have low to nonexistent growth, a shortage of good jobs and a massive web of needs-based programs.
No nation on earth is more generous when it comes to immigration than America. Each year about one million people permanently immigrate here legally. But when people hear that we have over twelve million people here illegally, they feel as if we are being taken advantage of. They see how hard it is to find and keep a steady and well-paying job, and they worry that more people will
The need for trade to find new markets for American products reminds us why foreign policy is still important, even at a time when we are rightly focused on the struggles of the middle class here at home. The United States has to be engaged in the world in order to sell its goods and services to the world. We canât afford to lose markets because a country is afraid of what its more powerful neighbor will do if they trade with us.
This is exactly what happened in Ukraine. They sought closer economic and political relations with the West, and Russian strongman Vladimir Putin made them pay a price for itâand was allowed to do so by the United States and other free-market powers. In the twenty-first century we have to be able to sell our products and services to any market in the world. By failing to force Putin to pay a price for his naked aggression in Ukraine, we have set an example for other countries with hegemonic aspirations. We are telling not just Russia but China, Iran, North Korea and other countries that itâs okay to intimidate their neighbors if they seek trade and economic relations with us. They now look at Ukraine and they see a cautionary tale that directly affects our economy: If we grow closer to the United States and the West, this is what will happen to us.
Last but certainly not least, winning the global competition for investment and innovation will require us to win the global competition for talent. We simply cannot remain competitive in the twenty-first century if we are unable to attract and keep the most talented people in the world.
For as long as there has been an America, we have benefited from the infusion of entrepreneurs, innovators, workers and dreamers who have come to this country from other lands. But today, at a time when so many working-class and middle-class families are struggling, it can fairly be asked: Is it possible to advocate continued immigration while at the same time fighting for an agenda to lift up the working and middle classes? Arenât these two things at odds with each other? Well, the answer is yesâif we continue on the path weâre on.
To begin with, our immigration system itself is chaotic. Entire sectors of our southern border are not secure, creating not just an immigration problem but a serious humanitarian and national security one as well. Last summerâs crisis of thousands of unaccompanied minors entering this country proves that both our borders and our immigration system can be overwhelmed very quickly. In addition, many of our immigration laws are simply not enforced or unenforceable. For example, a significant percentage of those here illegally arrived legally, but then overstayed visas. We do not know who most of them are or where they are.
Our immigration system, designed primarily to reunite families, is an outdated relic of the last century. This system worked for much of the twentieth century, when we had no shortage of low-skill, middle-income jobs and the government safety net was still fairly limited. But today we have low to nonexistent growth, a shortage of good jobs and a massive web of needs-based programs.
No nation on earth is more generous when it comes to immigration than America. Each year about one million people permanently immigrate here legally. But when people hear that we have over twelve million people here illegally, they feel as if we are being taken advantage of. They see how hard it is to find and keep a steady and well-paying job, and they worry that more people will
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