March 25, 2016
Congressional candidate Jamestown Democrat John Plumb is criticizing Congressman Tom Reed, saying that Reed voted for the TTP, the transpacific trade deal. Reed says no, he did not vote for it.
Statement from John Plumb:
Congressman Tom Reed is desperately trying to cover up his tracks on supporting past disastrous trade deals, including the current Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), that have put thousands of jobs and rural working families at risk.
In a letter signed yesterday by Reed, he admits that the current job-killing TPP deal would “harm working and middle-class families in New York. The group said that past trade agreements have already cost the state manufacturing jobs.” That wasn’t always the case for Reed.
Look no further than his record of supporting past job-killing trade deals that have led to jobs being sent overseas and gutting the region’s economy. Just last year, Reed supported fast-tracking the job-killing TPP trade deal through Congress without input from his colleagues, a move that would help ensure its passage.
“Anyone who votes against working families time and time again like Congressman Reed is simply against our working families. All of Reed’s maneuvering cannot erase the fact that he has helped push through job-killing trade bills in Congress over and over, including the fast track of the Trans-Pacific Partnership last year,” said John Plumb; Naval Reserve Commander, fourth-generation Western New Yorker and candidate for Congress. “If today proves anything, it shows once again that Reed says one thing in our region but does the other in Washington.”
Response from Congressman Reed:
“Congress must always to be able to vote yes or no in trade deals,” stated Tom Reed for Congress Spokeswoman Amy Hasenberg. “This is why it was essential for Tom to vote in favor of Trade Promotion Authority. Without this vote, Tom would not have been able to vote NO on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) which fails to protect our workers and farmers. John Plumb, a Washington insider, either doesn’t understand the distinction or he believes President Obama should be able to make trade decisions completely unfettered by the American people.”
